Hidden Leaves
by Moon Prynces
Summary: Tenten's being stalked, Kakashi's book mysteriously disappears, Naruto & Hinata are engaged while Sakura and Sasuke help each other muddle through life as forces manage to push Ino & Shikamaru closer together... It's the drama called life.
1. Chapter 1

11-16-06

11:13am

one-shot turned too long fic, couples- Shikamaru/Ino, Neji/Tenten, some Naruto/Hinata and Sakura/Sasuke and a smash of Kakashi/Anko

Summary- Tenten is being stalked and finally takes the chance to ask for Neji's help in the matter, as Kakashi's current volume of Icha Icha Paradise has gone missing and he's come to the conclusion it's been stolen. And Naruto and Hinata have just announced their engagement while Sakura and Sasuke are trying to help each other muddle through life, all the while there's a plot to push Ino and Shikamaru closer together. Life could only be less clear...

**Disclaimer- I do not own Naruto or any of the characters.**

**xoxo**

**Title-Hidden Leaves**

**Chapter 1**

**By-Moon Prynces**

**xoxo**

Ino stood up abruptly, listening for the all too familiar sound. And in slow motion, as it smoothly reached her ears, a wide smile spread across her face and she hurriedly ran to the front door. Flinging it open she turned and shoved her hand into the mailbox to pull out the envelopes.

The mailman, who was only a few feet away, smiled to himself as it wasn't unusual to see Ino getting so happy over receiving mail. Although her mood was sometimes brought down because the only thing she got were bills or junk mail.

However this time her excitement and efforts to rip the mailbox off the wall of her house to get to the goodies paid off because she spotted a beautifully decorated envelope on the very top. And in the corner, the return name and address were from Naruto.

She almost bumped into the closed door on her way back inside because she was so distracted. But once she was safely inside she started to...

"Wonder what's going on..." She murmured to herself, turning the unopened envelope over to check both sides and trying to come up with an explanation for the special looking package. "It has to be for a special occasion or something." Ino walked past a table in the living room and dropped the rest of the mail on it carelessly.

Now she held the envelope in both hands preciously. Her eyes suddenly widened. "It really must be something big if _Naruto _of all people is sending out a letter like this."

And finally after prolonging the process she ferociously ripped open the white paper and a small card, looking just as fancy as the envelope fluttered to the floor.

**xoxo**

"You are coming, right?" Sakura prodded.

He sighed to himself. How in the world does someone ranked as a jounin, meaning himself, find himself conversing with a medic-nin? Not to say he was better than her, but their professions were so far apart that it seemed impossible to be in this position.

Shikamaru glanced at the pink-hair girl on his left. "Yeah, sure." He shrugged.

This only caused her to jump up and squeal. "This is gonna be so great! Just like old times! The nine rookies together! And Lee's team will probably be there too! And Kakashi-sensei! It's been so long since there was a party or something like this!" She gushed, mostly to herself, as Shikamaru was sulking and wishing she'd leave.

He opened his mouth anyway. "So when is this again?"

Sakura suddenly turned to him with a strange look. "Didn't you get the invitation?" She questioned.

He shrugged again. "I don't know."

And then he found himself on the receiving end of a rather severe beating. The jounin discovered he was on the floor, instead of the stool at the ramen stand, listening as Sakura ranted while stomping away angrily.

"Why don't you ever check your mail Shikamaru?!" She shouted, not bothering to turn around.

**xoxo**

It had been quite a few years since their chuunin exam, and Konoha had changed in many ways. Sasuke had returned to the village, to the protest of many, but was eagerly taken back in by his former teammates, Sakura and Naruto. Both of whom, along with their friends from Team ten, eight and Team Gai had grown up and into the many roles they currently occupied, which included being among the ranks of chuunin, jounin, members of Anbu, and medic-nin.

And because of the work they all were involved in it was rare that they all got to see each other so often anymore, even with trying to retain close personal relations with everyone.

So it was appreciated that Naruto was having a gathering of some sort. Well, appreciated by many but not quite everyone...

"This has got to be a joke. How would any of us find time to go to this ridiculous party or whatever it is?" The Hyuuga prodigy complained, resting his cheek in his palm and sitting calmly at a desk. He glanced up at his former teammate and one of his best friends (although hard to admit it may be), Tenten.

They were currently lounging around in an office building, supposedly finished with filling out reports from their latest missions. Lounging seemed to be the word for Neji, but he noticed how Tenten stood up abruptly and walked over to a filing cabinet and began looking through the drawers frantically. He raised an eyebrow, wondering why she was acting so strange. She hadn't been like that before their lunch break, when they disagreed on the choice of food and separated.

She turned around and he saw the apprehensive look in her eyes and worried expression etched in her face.

"What's up with you?" He asked, in a very unconcerned voice.

"Nothing." She said lightly.

He stared some more, wondering what she could possibly be so worked up over. "Did you lose something?"

Tenten jumped at the question. 'Just my sanity.' She thought silently, and looked up to see Neji staring at her hard as she took a seat at her own desk. If she were completely over the edge of that cliff, she'd probably swear he could read her mind at that moment. "No, haven't lost anything." She said again, using that lighter-than-butter voice of hers.

Finally giving up, he shrugged to himself. Then picked up the card on his desk and looked it over critically. "So are you going to Naruto's dinner party?"

She brightened, suddenly worlds away from the previous problem. "Of course! I wouldn't miss a chance to meet up with everyone! I hardly get to see Sakura and the rest of the girls anymore!" She said, looking very excited and child-like.

Neji smiled at her attitude. He leaned back in his chair and gently put the card back down. "Yeah, I guess it wouldn't hurt if I came along too."

"Good. Because I was going to drag you along anyway." Tenten stated with an assured nod to herself. He looked up, amused. "You may be under the impression that slaving over your job is 'professional' but I say it's not human. You are going to come out. You are going to that party. And you are going to have a good time." She said again, looking very determined.

Neji just shook his head at her silliness, not minding her assertive nature. He was just too fond of the weapons kunoichi.

"Only for you, Tenten." He muttered to himself.

**xoxo**

Now, to say that Kakashi Hatake was an overly-relaxed person was just going soft on him. To say he was damn lazy most of the time, was a little closer to the truth. But calling him a pervert was all-too appropriate, and one only had to notice the Icha Icha Paradise book, ever present in his hand to call him such.

But unfortunately for him, this bright and cheerfully sunny day, he couldn't seem to locate his current volume of his favorite book.

He suddenly found himself the center of attention among the large groups of people passing by, although he could care less. It was because he was searching every conceivable place on his person where he could have stashed the book. He was very certain he had walked out of his house that morning with said book in hand, so where could it possibly be now?

The jounin sharingan-user stopped and sighed, using an index finger to scratch his forehead thoughtfully. His bored expression remained but underneath he could only wonder what had happened to his beloved book. How could he get through another excruciating day in this world without it?

And since he hadn't finished that volume, there was no way he could move on to the next one. He was basically stuck.

He began walking down the street, stuffing his now useless hands into his pockets and came to the conclusion that someone must have stolen it.

**xoxo**

It was getting late, and as realized by most of Konoha, Naruto's invitations had been sent out even later. Most people had received it only a day before the date of his gathering. And some, just that very day.

It didn't seem to matter though, as most were excited to attend a social gathering no matter if they had just gotten back from a tiring mission or didn't have the time to pick out an acceptable outfit.

Ino was one of these people. She had gone through her closet at least three times, and it was already six. Only an hour left.

She groaned, sliding to the floor. "What am I gonna do?" She asked herself, looking lost in her bedroom. "Maybe I can call Sakura and..." But the idea was quickly wiped from her mind.

The young medic-nin was probably having too much trouble just dealing with Sasuke to help her, even if she tried to make it seem otherwise. Luckily, or maybe unluckily, Sakura had been the one to take Sasuke into her home, seeing as there was no where for him to stay when he returned. And it was a good thing she lived on her own now or her parents would've flipped at the very idea.

In fact, most of them lived on their own now. With the exception of Lee who would forever be rooming with his mentor and idol, Gai-sensei, and Neji and Hinata who still lived in the Hyuuga clan mansion, and perhaps Chouji who might never leave home because he couldn't resist his mother's cooking.

Ino looked at the mess of a room and sighed. "Maybe once more and I'll find the perfect thing. There has to be a combination I haven't worn yet." She said to herself, back to the task of troubling herself with what to wear.

**xoxo**

Maybe she had overdone it just a bit, because Ino found herself, although looking wonderful in a halter top and her favorite jeans, late. She was currently throwing herself out the door while trying to put on her heels at the same time, her purse wildly slung over a shoulder and the invitation in her mouth.

It really wasn't the getting ready that took her so long, mostly the stressing over it for no real reason at all. But after realizing the fix she put herself in, the blonde vowed to stop being so childish. Maybe it was time she grew up.

"Nice look, going an award this year?" She heard someone say mockingly.

Ino had just swung the door shut with one hand while holding her shoes in the other and only had the chance to look up for a second before falling over from her unbalanced posture and slightly bent over position.

"Hey Shikamaru." She greeted, still managing to sound cheerful, in a heap on the floor.

He chuckled at her before offering a hand to help her up. "I guess you're on your way to Naruto's thing, right?" He asked. She only gave a nod and grabbed onto his arm to help her put her shoes on. "We're both late aren't we?" He asked again.

Ino nodded again, and after fixing her shoes in the right places, let go of him and stood up straight to give a real answer. "Yup. Nice of you to drop by, but why are you late?" She questioned with a curious look as they began walking.

He shrugged. "I was doing something and it took longer than I thought it would." Shikamaru replied evasively, his glance going anywhere but her.

She smiled slyly. "What could that have been then? Making out with your current girlfriend? Or even doing something more?" Ino pretended to gasp in surprise. "Shikamaru I'm surprised at you! I thought you were one to wait until marriage! Or at least take it slow!"

Shikamaru sighed at the silly stories she was coming up with to amuse herself. "I was taking a nap, okay?"

Too late though, because Ino was busy laughing to herself uncontrollably.

He finally made an annoyed face. "Could you stop already? People are staring." He tried.

Ino looked at him with a grin. "What are you talking about? It's turning dark! Everyone's inside eating supper or hanging out somewhere! There's no one around!" She spread her arms out to the empty streets.

"That's 'cuz you scared them off." He muttered, waiting for the kick he'd get for his comment.

**xoxo**

Naruto looked positively beaming as he hugged Hinata, who was blushing, closer to him. Although he definitely did not miss the look Neji was shooting him from where he sat on a chair next to Tenten. The older Hyuuga crossed his arms angrily.

"What's he holding her for anyway?" He asked grumpily.

Tenten had no idea how to calm him down. "What's wrong with it?" She questioned, obviously confused. "Would you rather be holding her instead?"

Neji turned slightly red at the unintentional insinuation. "Not like that Tenten! I'm not jealous of him!" He took a few breaths before continuing. "It's just... look at him! He's being so... so..." He struggled for the right word.

"Possessive?" She guessed, looking very amused at the situation. She looked up to see Naruto and Hinata in the same cozy position, talking to Sakura and Kurenai.

"Exactly!" He exploded, the rage evident on his face.

"Just like you're being right now?" Tenten asked with a cheeky smile, awaiting his reaction.

The Hyuuga paused in his stupid tirade to blink and stare at her blankly. "What?"

Meanwhile, everyone who had already arrived were enjoying themselves. Except for the question of why Naruto had decided to have this get together in the first place. It was pretty strange, considering that first, it was not being held at the ramen shop, his favorite place and instead they were all inside a big restaurant that was hosting this party. Two, he and Hinata had been inseparable all night and people were starting to wonder when they had started going out or maybe the party was to celebrate that they had finally gotten together. And three, it was _Naruto._ Since when did Naruto plan and throw parties?

"What's going on here?" Was the first question out of Sakura's mouth when she had come across Naruto and Hinata clinging to each other.

He just grinned widely and put his arm (not the one holding Hinata) behind is head sheepishly. "Hey Sakura! It's been like a month since we've seen you!"

Sakura twitched. _We?_

Hinata, who had blossomed from her former self smiled. "We're glad you could make it Sakura. Is Sasuke here with you?" She questioned, her voice still sounding small and timid.

The pink-haired girl backed off a little. "No, he really didn't seem to want to come. I gave up trying to convince him. He still doesn't seem very in touch with Konoha anymore. I wish I could say he was still getting over all the things he's been through but it's been two years." She sighed.

And then was surprised when she felt Hinata move away from Naruto and enveloped her in an embrace. "It's okay. I'm sure Sasuke will be fine." She tried to comfort. She moved back a little to smile kindly at Sakura.

Which happened to be when Kurenai came walking up to the three. Naruto smiled politely, not being that close with the older woman.

"Hinata-chan." She smiled in greeting.

The said girl moved to give another hug, this time to her former sensei. "Kurenai-sensei!" Her shy demeanor broken by the arrival.

As their conversation diverged away from the previous topic, Sakura took this moment to give Naruto, whose face seemed permanently stuck in a grin, a hard, long look.

Finally she commented. "You seem happy, Naruto." She stated softly, catching as he glanced at Hinata.

He looked up to see her smile and worried eyes. "Thanks." He replied gratefully. And when she was about to turn away and leave he went on. "And don't worry so much about Sasuke. I'm sure he'll be okay."

Sakura looked back to the blonde in front of her, marveling at how much he'd grown up.

"I'm sure you and Sasuke are gonna be okay." He said again, giving her a reassuring nod and smile.

Their sappy moment was interrupted by a pair bursting through the doors, looking very wet.

"Who told the stupid clouds to rain today anyway?" Ino asked angrily, holding her arms out and going over the damage that had been done to her person.

"How troublesome." Shikamaru commented, pushing some of his wet hair away from his face.

Chouji, upon seeing the rest of the old team ten, swiftly walked over to them and smiled. "What took you guys so long? Got caught by the rain doing something in particular?" His eyes twinkled at the implication.

Shikamaru and Ino glanced at each other disinterestedly. Then simultaneously muttered, "Yeah right."

Naruto looked around at the people assembled. He spotted Kiba and Akamaru by the buffet table, sampling the food and making faces at what they thought tasted bad. Shino was sitting at a table, observing the gathering. Ino and Shikamaru were still standing in their soaking clothes by the door, as Sakura went to get them towels to dry off. Chouji was also still there conversing with them.

Lee and Gai-sensei were at the bar, and Naruto suspected that the combination of them plus alcohol was not something anyone needed to witness and mentally noted to get them away from there soon. Tenten was sitting at another table with Neji, who was currently giving him a death glare.

Naruto sweatdropped and waved awkwardly at him. He looked back to Hinata who was still having a very animated conversation with Kurenai. He smiled to himself.

Then remembered that Sasuke wasn't there, and wouldn't be coming at all. And despite his efforts to be happy, he was disappointed hearing how Sakura had talked about his condition.

It was expected that Sasuke would never be fully accepted back into Konoha and that he would never be the same person but being around Sakura and Naruto a lot, they thought, might help him. But he'd hardly made any progress and rarely spoke or left his current residence.

Then Naruto spotted someone sulking in the darkest corner of the room. He walked over silently before tapping the older man on the shoulder.

"Hey Kakashi-sensei!" He said with a grin.

The man winced slightly at the loud tone of Naruto's voice. "Hello Naruto." His voice and expression back to looking unperturbed. "So, do you mind if I ask what was your reason for tonight's festivities?" He looked around nonchalantly.

The blonde grinned. "Just wait a bit more, you'll find out soon. So how have you been anyway? I bet you miss team seven more than any of us! We were the only reason you got out of bed in the morning... even though you were always late." Before Naruto knew it, his topic of conversation had gone down another road entirely and he was furrowing his brows at the memories of Kakashi's pathetic excuses. "And you always had your book with you!" He said again, and blinked realizing what was missing. "Uh... Kakashi-sensei, I don't know if you noticed..." He leaned in to whisper while his former sensei gave the same bored look. "But you don't have your favorite book out. Are you okay?"

Kakashi wanted to slap his own head. Of all the things to bring up, it had to be the touchiest subject at the moment. He only nodded, shoving his hands further into his pockets. "I realized Naruto. Nothing's wrong."

Just then Hinata came traipsing up to the two of them. "Naruto, I think it's time we actually got things started." Came her soft voice.

He couldn't help the smile that passed over his face and the same thing happened to her. Naruto turned to his sensei. "I'll talk to you later Kakashi-sensei!"

The two slowly linked hands as they made their way over to the center of the room, noticing as everyone's gaze traveled with them.

"Hey, everyone can we have your attention for a few minutes?" Naruto started off. Although curiosity strung high in the air, there was still a lot of chatter going around. An annoyed look crossed his face. "If you don't shut up you won't know the reason why you're here!" He shouted again.

His eyes held a room full of his and Hinata's closest friends, mentors and acquaintances. Now that he had captured everyone's attention his smile slid back into place.

He took in the sight carefully, trying to remember every detail. It was true that through growing up and ascending the ranks, along with taking in the missions they were assigned they all hardly had time to see each other.

Hinata nudged him out of his thoughts. He glanced at her, and then remembered what he was going to say.

Sakura laughed a little, commenting how it was just like Naruto to space off in his own world. Shikamaru muttered something and got elbowed by Ino. Neji's look was enough to send anyone to an early grave, but Naruto pointedly ignored it.

The room felt eerily quiet, but he gulped and trudged on. "Well... I doubt any of you know this, but Hinata and I have been going out for a while."

Ino's jaw dropped. "No way! Under our noses the whole time and I didn't realize?"

Sakura smiled. "I think we kind of suspected it Naruto, with the way you two were glued to each other all night."

On the other hand, some people didn't take it so well.

"What?!" Neji stood up abruptly and walked over. He was halted however by Lee and Gai-sensei swooping in.

"It's so good to see two young hearts so full of love! Don't look so upset Neji!" Gai said, blocking his path.

"That's right! We should be so happy that they've found each other." Lee said, looking a little tipsy. He then let his eyes quickly dart over to Tenten for Neji to see, and then winked. Or at least he tried to wink, but only ended up with something between that and a blink.

Hinata and Naruto looked at each other after seeing the soon-to-be disaster.

She cleared her throat and the voices went down and ears perked up to hear her.

"Naruto and I are engaged." She said, her smile enough to light up the entire restaurant.

Once again Ino gaped. "An engagement party?!" She then swooped in the give them both a heart-filled hug. "Why didn't you guys say so? We would've been able to dress appropriately and congratulate you-" She was cut off however, along with the chattering among Team Gai as the door opened slowly.

Sakura, who had also been about to congratulate and hug both Hinata and Naruto looked up to see... the one thing she almost dreaded...

Sasuke looked up at the people gathered in the room and inwardly cringed. He spotted Sakura and immediately started walking over to her. Naruto watched as well, wondering what happened to him staying at home.

The pink-haired girl looked worried. "Is something wrong? I thought you were staying home today." She asked anxiously.

He only shook his head, an obvious sign of his discomfort with the large crowd of people.

After a moment, things slowly eased back to normal and almost everyone had gone up to congratulate Naruto and Hinata on their engagement, giving hugs and proud looks.

Neji was still at the table, being restrained by Lee and Gai-sensei. Tenten was trying to calm him down.

"Stop making a scene!" She whispered furiously, her voice not sounding angry at all. "Calm down! You can talk with them later!" She tried again.

"They're only freaking eighteen years old! What could they possibly know about relationships and marriage?!" He argued.

"Apparently, a lot more than you." And just like that Tenten silenced him with a sentence and a look.

Ino, Sakura and Kurenai were all gathered around Hinata and Naruto after most people had already spoken to them and decided to proceed to the meal.

"I can't believe this is actually happening." Sakura said in a daze, taking a small sip of what she thought was some kind of juice, which would later turn out to actually be wine. "Naruto and Hinata are getting married."

Ino smiled at them. "I'm so happy for you two! You should definitely have my family's shop do the flower arrangements!"

"It's so nice to see you've grown up into a beautiful, sensible woman Hinata." Kurenai complimented. Then winked to her. "I knew it wouldn't be long before you got a hold of Naruto."

Hinata smiled, wondering how her sensei could be so strong after losing Asuma. She wondered how she would ever go on if something happened to Naruto and turned to look at him. He noticed this and gave her a reassuring grin. Ino 'aw'ed at the little looks they shared.

The blonde girl suddenly snickered. "This is so great! Now all we have to do is wait for Sakura and Sasuke to finally get together." She grinned to herself.

Sakura found this less amusing than the rest of the group, most of which laughed. "Oh yeah? What about you Ino?" She shot back. "We already know how many guys are lined up for a date with you and how many you've already been on. So when are you finally going to get into a real relationship and stop being so picky?"

Ino paled at the thought. "W-what?"

Hinata joined in. "Yes Ino, when do you think you'll be getting married? You must have a boyfriend already, who wouldn't want to go out with you?" Her small smile was enough to hide her laughter.

The four of them looked expectantly at Ino.

Her cheeks suddenly turned red. "Who said I need to get married anyway?" Her wide eyes flickered around. She shifted uneasily. "That's it! I don't need to get married! So I'm not going to. Ever. I can just be with a guy can't I?" She squeaked out.

Sakura smiled lightly at her friend's embarrassed state. She glanced back at Sasuke who sat by himself, staring down at his hands on the table. Naruto caught her and nodded before whispering something in his fiancée's ear and walking to the table.

Unluckily for Naruto he was taken by surprise when someone stepped in front of his path. He looked up into the shrewd eyes of Neji Hyuuga.

"I don't approve of you and Hinata getting married." He stated. Then caught the glare his entire team sent his way. "So soon." He added, for his own safety.

Naruto scratched his cheek, looking uncertain. "Uh... yeah. Sorry about that! I was meaning to ask you and Hinata's dad first, but then we got so caught up in something and then I just found myself blurting out the words."

Neji twitched, wondering what exactly they could have been 'so caught up in'. At seeing the older Hyuuga's mind working in that direction Naruto threw his hands up to his defense. "No, not anything like that! It was a mission and-"

"You had better take care of her Naruto." He said quietly, making his threat hit home. He smiled triumphantly at the priceless look on the blonde's face. Neji awkwardly gave Naruto a pat on the shoulder before quickly retracting his hand like it had been burned.

Both suddenly noticed as another dark-haired boy approached them silently. Sasuke stood before them both, his bangs hiding his eyes.

He looked up with a neutral expression, trying to comprehend what was going on around him. Naruto? And marriage? Had be heard right?

He finally turned to his former teammate and nodded his head in greeting. Naruto was suddenly serious and nodded back as well. Neji took the opportunity to watch the exchange.

"I think we should talk." Sasuke said, causing Naruto to freeze in shock.

'Oh great, am I gonna get grief from everyone today?' He thought to himself.

"Later though. When we're alone." The Uchiha went on.

Naruto nodded and Neji made his way over to give Hinata a hug and warning.

The rest of the night turned out better than Hinata and Naruto had expected. And basically, their expectations were somewhere between having the restaurant explode due to Neji's rage or the happiness coming off in waves from themselves.

Shikamaru sighed to himself, watching as Chouji came back with another plate of food. "Hey, aren't you full yet?" He questioned his best friend.

Chouji didn't bother dignifying that question with an answer.

The jounin looked around the room, wondering when would be the right time to leave without making himself seem rude. Although it was indeed an occasion to celebrate over, he was fast becoming bored.

He suddenly glanced up as laughter echoed through the room from a certain group of girls.

"What?" He heard Ino go, looking vexed over something. "What's wrong with that? Nothing. There isn't anything wrong with being single either." She went again.

Shikamaru sighed to himself. He should really warn Ino about opening her mouth. Most of the time stupid things came out.

"I swear, it's too troublesome." Ino said again, not paying attention to what she was saying, thus completely missing the fact that she had just used Shikamaru's favorite word.

Although, he definitely noticed. And then he overheard as she declared that there was no way she'd ever be getting married. Sakura said she was acting like a five-year old and they ended up making faces at each other while Hinata and Kurenai laughed.

After the small confrontation with Naruto, Sasuke left, only pausing long enough to tell Sakura.

There was the sound of a crash and Naruto cursed, having completely forgotten to remove any kind of alcohol from the sights of Gai and Lee. Now it was too late as they both had been dancing frantically and singing something ridiculous, then just happened to trip over each other before the eyes of Tenten and Neji.

Tenten rushed over to help them up and see if they were injured while Neji, who was still seated, just shook his head at the display. After finding nothing out of place, Tenten gave them both a smack on the head.

Shino, who had been very silent, as usual, the entire night looked up as Kakashi casually walked over and took a seat at a table nearby. He could swear he heard the jounin mutter something before observing the room carefully.

Aside from a few oversights (such as there not being enough food), the engagement party went off very well and everyone left feeling excited and thrilled for Naruto and Hinata. There were more talks of marriage among other people, like Ino suggesting Sakura and Sasuke. And Ino's tactless avoidance of the topic of her own marriage proved she was definitely not ready for commitment.

Lee and Gai were taken home by Neji, Tenten and Kakashi (after Sakura begged him for the favor).

And well... things were pretty good in the lives of Konoha's citizens.

**xoxo**

"Piece of cake." Ino said, grinning to herself.

Shikamaru glanced at her. "Don't get too overconfident. Anything can go wrong. Stay on your guard and be careful. Don't let anything slip past you." He said carefully.

Although everyone liked to think Shikamaru was still the lazy genin-turned-chuunin, he had grown up and matured. Now he was a very responsible jounin who took his missions seriously. And for that he would always be teased by Ino, Chouji, Naruto and even Sakura.

She shot him a grumpy look but resolved to take his advice. Hadn't she talked about growing up and being more mature just a week ago? Right before Naruto and Hinata had announced their engagement... and Ino had denied herself the very idea of getting married.

The blonde sighed to herself, shifting slightly in her crouched position in the tree. Shikamaru was only a few feet away on another tree branch, his eyes observing the area around them and his mind working on a way to get them out of this situation.

Ino had already completed her part, carefully infiltrating the camp and extracting the needed information from a few dopey guys. The only reason Shikamaru was sent with her was because it would be hard for her to get out on her own, surrounded as they were.

She had suggested to just make a run for it; they were obviously faster than any of the guys at the camp and could easily get away. But Shikamaru had shot down the idea and said it would be better to find an opening and take the opportunity to leave undetected.

"Ino!" She blinked and looked up suddenly to find him looking at her and urgently whispering her name to get her attention.

"Huh?"

"Stay alert and stop spacing out! I'm only trying to keep you alive here!" He said, giving her a pointed look.

Two hours later they had only moved a few miles away from their previous location. Ino was mentally counting all the parts of her body that ached. They were now walking along the ground, Shikamaru had confirmed it was safe enough and they wouldn't be spotted even though it wasn't a big gap in distance. This was only after they spent a good while waiting for one of the guys to slip up on his "guard duty".

"Shika, I'm tired." Ino stated, stopping and leaning her hand against a nearby tree for support.

He sighed to himself. "Troublesome." Then looked over her exhausted body. "Fine. But only for half an hour." Ino nodded and let herself plop onto the ground, bracing against the tree trunk. "Figures, when we finally get a chance to escape you cause trouble."

Ino looked up with an annoyed look but the crooked grin on his face proved he was only kidding. She watched as he took a seat on the ground as well, which soon turned into him lying down on the grass. But the trees blocked his view of the sky.

"What're you doing?" Ino finally asked, giving him a strange look. "We aren't in an open field you know."

"I know that." His voice came out irritated. Then, "I know." He said again, this time calmly, almost lazily. Well, as lazy as he would let himself sound on a mission like this.

Ino looked up to where the trees met and crossed over each other, barely letting any sunlight in. "So then what are you doing?" She questioned again.

He closed his eyes and didn't answer her for a while. She tried to wait patiently. And when she thought she would burst out at him, he finally answered. "Pretending."

Ino scoffed. "What does that mean?"

"I'm pretending that I'm back in Konoha, just at my regular cloud watching spot. And there isn't anything blocking my view and it's a nice, clear day." After his explanation it went silent again.

Ino stared at her friend for a moment. Then turned away with an unreadable face. "That's childish." Shikamaru didn't bother answering; he was actually more tired than he let on. She sighed to herself and picked at the grass around her feet. "But I guess we aren't kids anymore huh?" She asked herself. "Already eighteen... and fully trained ninjas who have a lot of responsibilities. And now Naruto and Hinata are getting married. Did you see that coming Shikamaru? You and your IQ of over 200."

His breathing was even and slow, suggesting that he was asleep. But that was impossible, she thought. Ino shook her head and crawled over to him, too tired to get up and walk. She examined his face carefully.

Shikamaru, true, wasn't actually asleep at all. His senses were still sharp and alert, so he heard as his friend made her way over. Then he felt a hard poke at his cheek. He winced slightly.

"Ha, nice try." She gloated. Then nodded to herself. "But I know, you're too tired and lazy to move. Unless it has to do with the mission." She said, mostly to herself as she rolled her eyes.

Ino moved back, sitting with her legs tucked underneath her. She looked around and sighed, obviously getting bored. And just like old times, she would start bothering him until she dragged a conversation from his lips.

"Hey Shikamaru, when do you think you'll be getting married?" She questioned. "Although, that would be kinda difficult without a girl, huh? Not that I'm saying I disapprove of you being with another guy or anything. It's just I wouldn't have thought of you in that way. Shikamaru? Gay? It just doesn't seem to fit you, that's all." She rambled on by herself.

Shikamaru twitched. He wanted to open his eyes and glare at her for making fun of him, but then she'd have what she wanted, a reaction and he wouldn't give her the satisfaction.

"You know, we hardly ever hang out anymore. You, me and Chouji. What would Asuma-sensei say to that?" Ino sighed again, her thoughts heading in a very depressing direction.

The Nara boy sighed too. "Ino, will you just shut up already?" He asked lazily.

She only turned back to glare at him. "I just wanted a pause to rest, not stop talking altogether. You know," Ino moved over to poke him with each word, "We can still have a conversation while taking a break."

He was about to make a sound of acknowledgement, but Ino suddenly found it funny to pull at his hair. He yelped in surprise and sat up quickly, rubbing his scalp.

"What was that for?" He asked irritably.

"What was what for?" She asked innocently.

Shikamaru glared at her. "Just... stay on your side of the forest floor!" He told her.

Ino broke into laughter. "Really, what happened to that infamous IQ of yours?"

He just sat there and stared at her blankly. The blonde stopped laughing to smile at him, before abruptly standing up. She fingered her long hair.

"You know, maybe I should cut my hair again." She said thoughtfully, her back to him as she walked back to her previous resting spot. "You know, get more into the spirit of growing up and all."

"It isn't something that you make happen." He stated the obvious.

She glanced back with a look. "I know that." She responded indignantly. "But it feels like... everyone's leaving me behind." Ino whirled around to look at him. "I mean, look at you! You're already a jounin and you're so much more responsible and different than you were five years ago. And I'm pretty much the same. Same hair, same clothes, same attitude."

"But at least you're not still crushing on Sasuke." He pointed out.

She plopped back down on the grass and covered her face. "Don't remind me. I feel dumb just thinking about the way I used to act."

"But you're not like that anymore." He tried again. She moved her hands away. "So you're not the same person you were five years ago either."

And before he realized it, she jumped up and was bounding over to throw herself onto him in a hug. She lifted her head up slightly with a wide smile. "Thanks Shika!"

He blushed at the close contact. Not that he'd never had a girlfriend before or anything. But it was Ino and her position on top of him _was _very provocative, for the mind of an eighteen year old male.

He grabbed the sides of her torso to move her off, which only succeeded in making her squirm as a strangled laugh came from her lips.

"Don't do that!" Ino complained, trying to hit him.

"You're the one who threw yourself on me! Way to go Ino, great idea." He said sarcastically, still holding onto her and trying to remove her from crushing his body. He could barely breathe.

"I could get off-" She couldn't help the few giggles that escaped. "-if you would just stop touching me!" His hand moved a little, causing her to laugh again. "That tickles!" She tried to control herself, finding it was also becoming difficult for her to breathe as well.

What ensued was more squirming, laughing and less breathing. And then the sound of rustling reached both their ears, causing them both to immediately freeze. They waited a second before Ino rolled herself off and moved into a crouch and Shikamaru sat quickly, narrowed eyes scanning the area.

He glanced at the blonde and nodded, then they both slowly moved to stand up. Ino yelped as something whizzed by her face and she barely moved out of the way in time for the kunai to give her cheek a small slice.

**xoxo**

"Nice scratch." He commented sarcastically.

She shot a look, touching her cheek lightly. "Nice attitude." Ino said back.

They both trudged their way slowly, almost unwillingly through the gates of Konoha, knowing what the next step was and dreading it. Neither could stand to be near the other at this point. After failing to keep their mission concealed and even getting attacked by the camp of people they had been spying on, Ino and Shikamaru wanted to just go home and either take a shower or head straight to bed.

But the Godaime was waiting. And she wouldn't be happy.

Stepping into the building the two received amused looks, snickers and some people were shaking their head. Shizune was luckily in the room and told them to go right in to see Tsunade.

They both stopped before the door, and glanced at each other. Ino sighed and Shikamaru scratched the untamable itch behind his neck. Then the door opened and they stepped through to greet the Fifth Hokage.

She looked up from trying to read over the scrawled handwriting that was supposedly Naruto's mission report. "Dressed like that it must mean you managed to get work done then, am I right?" She asked with a mocking smile.

Ino began to get nervous, thinking the Godaime's smile meant she knew what had happened.

Other the hand, Shikamaru only nodded his head, a calm look on his face. "We were able to get the required information. Ino infiltrated the camp and she'll fill out the report as soon as we leave." He stated with a bored look.

Ino looked at him apprehensively.

The older woman nodded. "And I take it they never realized what was happening? Everything worked out in our favor?"

"Actually... not quite in our favor." He replied, trying to look elsewhere as if it were no big deal.

Tsunade furrowed her brows. "There were complications? I don't understand. What went wrong? Were you not provided with adequate information for the mission?"

Ino finally decided to explain. "It's my fault really." She said, shaking her head. "We did get the information we needed for the mission and I was able to fool them easily. But," She gave a glance at her friend. "We decided to take a break and got distracted. They must've been patrolling the area and we were caught."

Now the Godaime's eyebrows shot up in disbelief. "This was a Rank C mission." She started, getting ready to throw a tantrum. She stood up slowly from the desk. "Are you saying that a jounin and chuunin, couldn't complete such a simple mission without being caught?"

Ino and Shikamaru now looked at each other and winced before the tirade continued.

**xoxo**

Ino stared straight ahead, waiting for it to be over. She looked around the room, trying to find a way to amuse herself.

The pink-haired girl let her eyes dart to her friends face. "Now can I ask how this happened? Wasn't it just-" She was abruptly cut off.

"A Rank C mission, yes it was. Why is everyone bringing that up?" Ino asked, quickly becoming irritated.

Sakura grinned. "Because," She said, stressing the word. "It was a _Rank C_ mission."

The blonde glared at her friend, slapping the hand that tried to poke the band-aid on her cheek. "Let's just go get something to eat already."

The other got up from her chair and the two left for a place to eat. It had originally been Sakura's plan to meet up with Hinata and Tenten for lunch, and since Ino had returned from the mission early she joined in as well.

The four girls met up and settled into the seats at a fairly deserted diner to have lunch and squeeze in talks of Hinata's engagement, and their boring lives.

The Hyuuga smiled sheepishly as Sakura continued to congratulate her and wished her so much good luck she thought sparks of happiness might start flying through the air.

Sakura sighed to herself and leaned back as they waited for their food. "I never would've thought that knuckle-head would be married before all of us." She commented.

When no one answered she saw the worried look Tenten was trying to hide and noticed the brooding aura coming off her best friend, sitting right beside her.

She sweatdropped. "So how're you guys doing?" Was her sheepish question.

"Awful." Ino muttered.

"Uh..." Tenten looked up, seemingly caught off guard.

Hinata posed the next question. "Ino are you alright?"

"No. I completely screwed up our mission this morning." She fumed.

Sakura admired her friend. A few years ago, the last thing Ino would do was admit her faults and mistakes.

In an attempt to distract herself, Tenten joined in. "What happened? It was with Shikamaru, wasn't it? What could've possibly gone wrong with a stupid genius there?"

The other three stared at her.

"What?" Tenten blinked innocently.

"Oxymoron." Sakura muttered.

Ino decided to continue. "Yeah, he was there. And all he did was end up being a complete distraction! I could've finished that mission easily without him!" She complained.

Hinata smiled at the words, but tried to conceal it by holding her hand in front of her face and faking a cough. Tenten, who was sitting beside her, gave a quizzical look.

"What exactly were you two doing?" Sakura tried to maintain the confused look without breaking a smile at her unintentional innuendo.

Ino shrugged, her arms still folded from her earlier rant. "Just talking."

Tenten caught on and nodded to Hinata and Sakura. "Mm." She went, putting her face on her hands, elbows on the table.

"I was tired." She said defensively. "I hardly got any sleep last night and I said we should take a break. So we did. He was just lying on the ground and I was sitting against a tree and I guess we weren't paying attention so they snuck up on us and... yeah." She ended lamely.

"That was all?" Hinata asked skeptically. "I didn't think Shikamaru would get so easily distracted." She commented.

Ino went to his defense. "Of course not! He's a jounin! And one of the best too."

"So then what else were you two doing?" Tenten asked, and Sakura stared intently.

She blinked, uncomprehending their motive. "Oh, there was the split second he managed to say something nice to me." Ino said, rolling her eyes at the thought of Shikamaru being sympathetic toward her. "So I jumped up to give him a hug and then he started tickling me-"

Sakura's mouth dropped open. "He sure was being friendly, huh?" Hinata giggled at the joke and Tenten grinned.

Ino's confused look only made it funnier. "Well he didn't do it intentionally. It's not like he was-" She stopped short, the realization dawning on her, but finished anyway. "-feeling me up." The blonde turned to glare at the three accusingly. "Ha-ha." She replied.

"You know, it's too bad you and Shikamaru aren't attracted to each other, you would make a cute couple." Tenten said lightly, busying herself with a napkin.

She could only gape as Sakura snickered and Hinata nodded in agreement. "What are you talking about? We've known each other forever!" Ino said incredulously, wondering how this stupid idea got in their heads.

Hinata broke in. "But so have Naruto and I." She responded with a small grin.

Ino glared defiantly, thinking that Naruto had obviously rubbed off on her. "You know what I mean! We've been _friends _for so long! Why would we ever consider dating each other?" She tried again.

"Yea, but..." Ino turned to Sakura, who was putting up a thoughtful face with a finger on her chin. "With the way you said he was acting it seems kinda strange." She shrugged and left it at that.

The girls quieted down as their lunch came. From the looks of it, Sakura, Tenten and Hinata had completely forgotten the previous topic, and their goal was accomplished. Because instead, it seemed to be stuck inside Ino's head.

**xoxo**

Tenten sighed for the billionth time that day as she headed back to the office that would contain Neji, always back from lunch early.

Unconsciously she began to bite her nails as she walked into the room. 'What I am gonna do if someone finds out?' She thought worriedly.

She walked into the room and right past Neji, who looked up, only to be ignored. His brows furrowed at her action.

'I mean, who would wanna do something like this to me?' She thought hysterically. 'I haven't done any great wrong to anyone lately, have I?' She went again.

Without paying attention her surroundings, the kunoichi pulled out her chair and sat down wearily. Her bizarre thoughts were interrupted by the only other person occupying the room.

"Tenten are you okay?" Neji asked, looking at her.

She jerked up, and suddenly made a sheepish face. "Yeah, just fine. I was just thinking about the lunch I had with Sakura, Ino and Hinata. We really should do that again sometime soon. It'd be a shame if we grew apart after Hinata and Naruto get married." She rambled on, laughing nervously.

An eyebrow twitched at the mention of the upcoming event. "Right." He said, dismissing her strange behavior.

Tenten shook her head and tried to do something productive. She should really try to clear her head. She could be assigned a mission any day, and what would happen if she let this stupid matter distract her on one? Her brain would turn to jelly and she'd fail.

And that was not something she would stand for.

She was so close to becoming a jounin, just as Shikamaru and Neji were. It would be stupid to waste any opportunity thrown her way to prove herself worthy of the position.

Still...

Neji looked up again as Tenten stood up and shot him a brief smile. "Can I borrow that paper shredder?" She questioned, motioning to the object at his feet.

"Sure." He responded, dumbfounded.

He watched as she got up, unplugged the appliance, picked it up and brought it (in his opinion) as far away as possible from him before putting it in the nearest outlet and pulling a very full looking envelope out from a concealed pocket. She proceeded to take out one piece of paper at a time, although he couldn't see what was on them, to look over carefully before slowly sliding it through the metal blades.

It took about half an hour for her to finish and Tenten didn't seem to mind her position on the floor as she completed her task. And when she was finally done, she got up with a content sigh and left the room, muttering something about washing her hands clean.

Quite understandably, he was curious. So when he figured she was down the hallway, Neji got up to open the shredder and peer at the contents.

He found himself picking up something thicker than a normal scrap of paper.

'A picture?' He thought to himself.

Of course, since the paper shredder was very efficient at its job, there were not long strips of easily visible paper, but little diamond shaped pieces of paper.

'Why would she be shredding pictures?' He questioned again.

But seeing as the evidence of whatever it was, was gone, there was nothing left to stare at. Neji put the lid back on and calmly walked back to his desk, trying to figure out if his friend and former teammate was going insane.

A few minutes later, the subject of his thoughts walked back in cheerfully.

"We're still gonna be training with Lee and Gai-sensei tomorrow, right?" She asked, taking her seat.

Neji sighed. "Oh, right." He said grumpily.

"Don't look so down Neji! It's always a chance to improve as a ninja!" She said eagerly, putting her face in her hands, once again with her elbows on the table.

Neji stared at her adorable face. When he did catch himself, he responded. "I don't think there's much I can improve from with those two anymore. They're always distracting us with stupid topics like... food, or being youthful, or being in love!"

Tenten just smiled at him in a way that made the last thing he said stick.

**xoxo**

Not far away, in a room down the hall, Kakashi Hatake was being briefed on a mission he would go on in a week. As he left the room, there was only one thing on his mind.

He patted the pocket that would usually hold his favorite possession. Of course there was nothing there. He had yet to find it, and catch the person who stole it. It'd been a few days and by now the jounin was sure he couldn't have just _lost_ the book.

He walked until he was outside the building and looked up at the bright sunlight, hands in his pockets. And with his normal, lanky and laid-back posture he stood there for a while, pretending to admire the day.

'Now who around here has a vendetta against me?' He thought to himself. And underneath the always present mask, he smiled stupidly. 'Scratch that, who here has a big vendetta against me and would be courageous enough to steal my book while I was fully awake and standing nearby?'

He tried to narrow it down a bit further. 'Who did I run into that day?' Kakashi looked around and began walking.

'I didn't run into Gai until Naruto's engagement party. Jiraiya is the last person who'd steal it, he's got a billion copies of it everywhere... I'm sure Tsunade and Iruka disapprove of my choice in reading material... but I wasn't anywhere near them these past few days.'

As he kept up pace and managed to nod in greeting to familiar faces, his mind was still working.

'And although Naruto was a troublemaker in his academy days, he's grown out of it. Besides, he's got his engagement with Hinata. I should probably congratulate him it, if only he hadn't distracted me that night.'

Kakashi stopped walking abruptly and looked up. The woman in front of him did the same, and a small smirk appeared on her face.

"Hello Kakashi." She put up a hand in greeting. The upbeat behavior, mesh clothing and one hand holding a stick with three dumplings could only belong to one Mitarashi Anko.

"Hello Anko." He nodded, his voice coming out smooth as if there _were no_ problems in his life at the moment. He walked over to stand in front of her.

"You looked a little distracted, what's wrong? One of your dogs finally ran away?" She questioned, still smirking and waving the hand with her favorite food around.

As she said this, something clicked in his mind. "Didn't I speak to you just a few days ago?" Was his random question.

Anko looked at him strangely. "Well, come to think of it, yes we did." She replied, looking thoughtful, the end of the dumpling stick tapping lightly on her lower lip. "Why? You're sick of me already?" She mocked.

"Hm..." He replied thoughtfully, trying to remember.

"I was with Kurenai. Don't you remember anything? So much for being a great jounin, eh Kakashi?" She nudged him with her elbow in a joking manner.

Kakashi shook his head upon remembering. There wasn't any way Anko or Kurenai could've taken his book. In fact, he distinctly remembered pushing it into his pocket when he spotted the two walking in his direction and began a conversation.

"Ah... thanks for the reminder." He said, and moved to walk away.

Anko tapped his forehead with her free hand. "You look pretty distracted over something. That's not good. It's too easy to be caught off-guard, and who knows where that'll lead you." She ended with a smirk before also walking past him, and resumed eating her snack.

He turned back at her words, watching as she nonchalantly walked away, back to minding her own business and hungrily scarfing down her food.

'Anko wouldn't have...' He cut off his thoughts.

Of course she wouldn't. She really didn't care for his hobbies or for him as a person at all. Maybe she admired his ninja skills and likewise, they were both impressive in battle. But that was all.

The spiky-haired shinobi tucked his hands in his pockets again and turned back to continue his walk.

**xoxo**

The pink-haired girl sighed slowly as she turned and closed the door softly, hoping to come in unnoticed. She walked in cautiously, looking around the dimly lit rooms. All the curtains were drawn, even though it was still bright outside.

"Sasuke?" Sakura asked lightly, hoping she would hear the usual 'hm' sound and follow it to find it him. Instead it was quiet and still inside the house.

It was kind of small but there was a kitchen, living room, bathroom and bedroom. And yet no Sasuke in sight. She sighed and sat down on a couch in the living room, not bothering to pull open a curtain.

'It isn't like him to leave the house so often.' She thought, holding her face in her hands, hunched over. 'Where could he have gone?' She worried.

She stressed momentarily, before finally deciding that he was okay enough to just wander around town. Because really, what could possibly happen? And when did she turn into such a worrisome person?

Sakura laid back onto the sofa, settling her whole body and stared up at the ceiling. 'I started worrying when he finally came back.' She decided. 'I started worrying when I took him in.' She went on. 'I started worrying when I saw how different he was, and how sad he looked.'

She sighed again and put the back of her hand on her forehead. She thought of how things had changed for her. She thought of how things were looking up for Naruto and Hinata and how neutral things were Ino and then looked at how down and desperate things seemed for her. And Sasuke, who seemed so introverted.

The girl closed her eyes. 'It's not fair.' She thought.

Although some people, mostly just girls who were still die-hard fans of Sasuke, might beg to differ. Because she lived with him. And she saw him everyday. And they even slept in the same bed.

To the last reason Sakura would probably scoff. There was never anything romantic or intimate about their sleeping, or living arrangements. It was just something that happened.

Mostly because when Sasuke had come back and she had let him live with her, there was only one bed to begin with. And over time she thought about saving up to buy another one, but there was hardly any room for another bed in there. And she already had a queen-sized bed, so to make room she would have to get two twin beds and it just seemed like a waste of money.

The sleeping together thing started as an accident. Naturally, being a gracious hostess she had given Sasuke the bed and taken the sofa for herself. And then one day she came home early and since he wasn't around, decided to take a nap on her own bed for the first time in two weeks.

And she woke up in the morning to see him next to her, not caring about her being there at all. So she found she didn't mind at all either. It's not as if they cuddled or touched each other either, except for accidental brushes.

She smiled bitterly with lids still unopened. 'I guess we've all grown up in some way. I'm no longer crushing on Sasuke as if my life depended on it.' Sakura thought to herself, her body lying motionless on the couch. 'But I still care for him. Just like I care for Naruto. As friends and teammates. Family almost.' Her mind brought Hinata's image up. 'But Naruto will be starting his own family soon.' Her smile turned pleasant.

The kunoichi finally opened her eyes and moved her hand; she turned over, now facing the coffee table. She laid there, thinking.

'I'm not a childish schoolgirl anymore. I'm almost an adult. Eighteen.' She thought, her green eyes blank. 'I have my whole life ahead of me, but it feels like I've been through so much already.'

She had kept her hair short, liking the light airy feeling around her shoulders and the way it looked felt right with her personality. Remembering how she had grown it out just for a guy now seemed like the dumbest idea out there. Even if it was Sasuke.

Besides, he only treated her as a teammate at best. Even now that they lived together he hardly acknowledged her. He hardly acknowledged anyone actually. But she didn't mind so much. She still took care of him. Made them both breakfast and dinner when she could. She had given up trying to initiate conversation or get him to talk about what was wrong. Sakura was smart enough to figure out that he'd tell her, or someone, when he felt he could.

But two years was a long time. And she was tired.

A few more thoughts flew through her head before she dipped into dreamland, still wondering where Sasuke could be.

**xoxo**

The lazy boy sighed contentedly, lying back on the grass and putting his hands behind his head. His best friend, Chouji, took a seat next to him, resting his arms on his knees and looking around.

"So how was the mission this morning?" Chouji questioned.

Shikamaru closed his eyes. "Bad." Was his only description.

The other boy knew better than to wait for elaboration, so instead went on to asking more questions. "Wasn't that the one with Ino? What happened?"

Once again his answer was short. "Tch, troublesome."

Chouji smiled at the normal behavior from his friend. "Come on, it couldn't have been as bad as the chuunin exam with Ino." He commented jokingly, bringing up memories of their immature and inexperienced days.

The Nara chuckled to himself. "Yeah. But it got messed up over the dumbest thing. Everything would've gone smoothly if she hadn't distracted us both." He finally opened his eyes and stared up at the clouds passing overhead.

"So it was Ino's fault?" He shook his head. "Doesn't sound like her. She grew out of all that stuff."

Shikamaru sighed. "She was complaining about being tired so I said we could rest for a bit. And then she started talking about nonsense." He shrugged. "And then I said something nice so she jumps on me for a hug. Stupid girls." He mumbled.

Chouji watched his friend cautiously. "So then..." He was searching for the right words, peering around carefully. "You guys were busy having an intimate moment?" He grinned to himself upon seeing Shikamaru's eyes widen.

"What?" He asked accusingly. "We weren't having or doing anything." He said firmly, now staring hard at the sky, a frown fixed on his face.

He pretended to shrug off his earlier comment. "So then what'd you do when she hugged you? How'd the mission get messed up?" He added, trying to keep it to a safe area.

"She knocked the wind out of me first of all; I could barely breathe, let alone concentrate on listening for anybody spying on us." Chouji smiled at that, about to ask what that person might be spying on exactly, but caught himself. "And then when I tried to get her off she started laughing!" Shikamaru sounded incredulous. "And I couldn't get her off since she was laughing and I wasn't breathing so... we didn't notice we were surrounded until it was too late."

At this Chouji became worried. "You guys got out okay though, right?"

He nodded. "Just a few scratches. And even though we got the information we needed, they still found out so the mission was kind of a waste." He shrugged then. "At least it's over."

A moment of silence passed between the two. Chouji stared around at the scenery while Shikamaru closed his eyes again and let laziness wash over him. All that talking and mission-failing was tiring.

"So..." Chouji started off lightly. "What's up with you and Ino anyway?" He asked.

Shikamaru grunted. After a few seconds he peeked open an eye curiously. "What?" He asked back.

"You guys seem kinda... I dunno." He shrugged under his friends gaze. "I mean I noticed it at the party when you guys came in together."

Now both eyes were open. "So? That's not unusual. We're friends and whatnot. And I passed by her house because it was on the way. That's all." Then a suspicious look came over his features. "What're you getting at?"

Chouji just shrugged nonchalantly. "Nothin'. Just, you two seem to be getting pretty close lately. You sure there's nothing going on with you two?"

Shikamaru stared at his friend as if he'd suddenly thrown away his life as a ninja.

He smiled. "Don't look so shocked." He said, giving his friend a nudge with his elbow. "I mean Ino's not too bad looking, right? In fact, I bet just about every guy in the village is awaiting a date with her. I wouldn't think any less of you if you admitted to being one of them." Chouji said with a chuckle.

The other boy looked away, not answering. An image of their blonde teammate came to mind. Yeah, she had grown up, no matter what she thought. She was very attractive. She was smart and a skilled kunoichi.

But she was definitely not his type of girl. And they were friends. Just friends.

And he found himself muttering this out loud. "Just friends." Was his half-hearted, slightly sleepy voiced defense.

Chouji grinned. "Yeah, but you never considered how she might look at it. And she was being awfully friendly this morning, wasn't she? You said she jumped on you, right?"

"It was just a hug." Shikamaru mumbled, turning away.

"And then she wouldn't get off? And started laughing?"

"Yeah, well she mumbled something about being ticklish."

He finally just shook his head. "Right, fine then. If that's the way you see it..." Chouji looked around. "Hey, I gotta go. I'll see you later." And got up, waving goodbye to his friend who didn't bother moving.

Shikamaru stared back at the white fluffs of clouds that passed by. He tried to concentrate on clearing his mind but now his own thoughts were nagging him. Traitors.

'So what? She was just being Ino, and a part of that is her doing random things like giving hugs or bringing up weird conversation topics.' He thought to himself. Finally the subject eased away and he fell asleep in the grass peacefully.

**xoxo**

The boy, almost an adult, that was missing from his usual residence was currently striding through the streets of Konoha, the sky turning pink as the sun set. He walked forward, arms swinging purposefully as he came to a very familiar spot.

Sasuke paused, memories hitting him full force. He shook his head and moved a flap with his hand before taking a seat at the ramen stand. He waited patiently, resting his arms on the counter and avoiding eye contact. Everybody got the idea and no one bothered him for the time being.

It wasn't too long before a loud, cheerful voice was heard coming closer, greeting just about everyone he saw on his way. The blonde took a seat carelessly next to Sasuke and ordered a bowl of ramen. He made no move or sound to acknowledge his former teammate until a minute had passed.

Naruto put his elbows on the counter and fixed his fingers together, still looking ahead and smiling.

"Hey." He started, finally turning his head a bit.

Sasuke nodded, also replying with a 'hey'.

He started off slow. "So, how's it going?" Naruto asked, eyes turning upwards to stare at the ceiling of the ramen shop.

The dark-haired boy just shrugged slightly. "I'm still here aren't I?" He gave a humorless smile.

Naruto turned back to examine him carefully before turning away. "Sakura says you aren't doing so well." Then he cracked a grin. "But she's so worrisome nowadays. It must be from being a medic-nin and taking care of people so much." He commented.

"Yeah." He replied shortly. Although it never really occurred to him. He really didn't think enough, especially about the person he shared a living space with.

"What? Trying to cover up something? Maybe you tried to make a move on her and it didn't work out?" Naruto nudged him playfully, joking of course.

Sasuke just shook his head at Naruto's teasing, a tiny smile that looked quite real appeared on his face. They watched as Naruto received his bowl of ramen.

And for the first time, he witnessed as Naruto sat there patiently instead of digging right in. The blonde placed his arms on both sides of the bowl, staring into it blankly.

"I feel a little guilty." He started off, glancing at Sasuke. "I promised to meet Hinata-chan for dinner later. I think this will just make me full and I won't be able to enjoy the meal she'll prepare."

The other boy's face shown with surprise at Naruto's thoughtfulness. But he quickly pulled out a smirk. "Since when have you ever managed to get full with just one bowl of ramen?" He questioned mockingly.

Naruto looked up to give him a sheepish look. "Guess you're right." He looked back down at the food for a moment before taking a pair of chopsticks and slowly began to eat. "Nice to know you've still got a sense of humor." He commented, and then paused in eating to pull a face. "Even though I'll never understand it much."

Sasuke's smirk stayed in place and he leaned back a little in his seat. Somehow being around Naruto made him feel like things hadn't changed at all. And yet, he could easily see that Naruto himself had grown.

The blonde looked up to see a reminiscent look on the other's face. "What're you thinking about?" He asked curiously.

Dark hair became more tousled as the owner shook his head. "Just remembering." He caught Naruto's eye. "The stupid missions we used to get sent on by Kakashi."

A grin broke out on Naruto's face. "Like dog-walking. And why was it I always got the difficult one of them?" He questioned rhetorically.

Sasuke chuckled. "No doubt Kakashi has a sense of humor we'll never understand either."

It went quiet a moment before, "Have you spoken to him?" Was the barely heard question.

He just ignored the question and tilted his head upwards, almost as if staring at the ceiling.

A few minutes later Naruto turned fully to face the Uchiha after finishing his ramen. "Look, I'm not gonna go prodding and stuff but if you wanna talk I'm right here. I'm always gonna be here." He waited until Sasuke turned his head to look at the blonde. "Just 'cuz things happened and time passed doesn't mean we aren't friends anymore. It's dumb to think you're alone here." He glared slightly. "In fact, it's dumb to think you're alone anywhere in Konoha." He said, rolling his eyes and remembering the bad tactics Konohamaru used to try and sneak up on him in the past.

Sasuke finally gave out a long suffering sigh. "I just wish things had gone differently." Came his aggravated voice. "Look at the mess I'm in here. I left Orochimaru to come back and barely escaped with my life. Maybe I should've just stayed to die." Naruto glared harder, and he continued upon noticing this. "Look at where I am. No one wants me here. I'm just taking up space and wasting time."

"Well then maybe you should get off your lazy butt and do something!" Was Naruto's forceful reply. Sasuke stared blankly at him. "Come on Sasuke, what am I? The car that constantly has to chase you down the street so you can make it to your destination?" He rolled his eyes. "You're just lucky I've got enough motivation to pass around all the time."

Finally the Uchiha let out a long, heart-filled laugh at Naruto's strange analogy. Naruto smiled at this. The two got up and walked out after Naruto paid for the food.

They each looked up and eagerly took in the sight of night befalling their own little village. Suddenly something snapped inside one of the two.

"Oh shoot! I still need to head over to Hinata's!" Naruto said frantically, grabbing the sides of his head in a comical way. "I gotta go! Sorry about this Sasuke!" He rushed. "We should continue our talk sometime later though." He added before waving goodbye and briskly walking away, and not running like the twelve-year old Naruto would have done.

Sasuke said his goodbye as well, watching his friend leave. He turned around and stuffed his hands in his pockets and began walking back home.

Sakura would be waiting if she had gotten home early. Most likely she'd be worried. But when he would walk through the door she'd only look up at him and sigh in relief and go back to doing something else.

It was a good thing Naruto was so bent on whipping him into a living human being, Sasuke didn't think he could stand himself being this way much longer. It wasn't as if he acted the way he did on purpose now. He just... was unsure of how to proceed with life. How to move forward. Luckily it looked like he would be getting a great big shove soon, by more than one person.

The dark-haired boy looked up as he walked through the almost empty streets. He thought about all the changes he had come to witness. Not just growing as a shinobi and getting stronger, but the people behind the iron will, genius mind or incredible power.

He really hoped he could grow and evolve just as all the people around him had.

**xoxo**

**Don't ask **me, my brain has been working overtime on writing and I just couldn't help myself. It was originally just going to be Ino/Shikamaru with small hints of other couples but I got my head organized on paper and wonderful plots and storylines came into mind. Although the characters are strangely out of whack, you all must've guessed by now a theme in here is growing up, change, evolving.

Also, when I got the ideas written down I realized it would be way too long for a one-shot although I could try to fit what would probably come out to be over 20,000 words in all into one chapter. But that would just look too messy and I scrapped that idea.

This "chapter" came out very long no matter how I wanted it to be at least less than 10,000 words. I don't mind though I suppose. I'm excited about this. I won't post until I'm done altogether though. And most likely I'll update the next installment a week after this will be posted.

Thanks for reading, hope you liked it! Criticism and comments are welcome and appreciated. And don't be afraid to just send me a message or email. Although I might not be able to reply.

11-20-06

6:31pm

**Okay, I've spent about two/three days contemplating what to do about this. I feel like I have finished this fic but... since through the middle of it things and life started getting in the way it seems to have panned out to something awful. It's not that I'm being pessimistic, beleive me. This story starts out strong for sure... but I guess I got tired and I was down a lot so my off moods affected the way things turned out.**

**There are five chapters in total and I will update with a new chapter once a week or so, because I believe in giving/getting things in moderation instead of having it all shoved down your throat at once.**

**And, if you were able to make it through this chapter without falling asleep, I'm impressed. Because the next three chapters are quite long, longer than this one. Hope you enjoyed, though I'm doubtful. Maybe with the extra time I'll be able to change around some things and make it better, though I'm getting too lazy for it... who knows? Ciao.**

**And also, to check up with what I'm doing, when I will updated something or whatever just check my profile page which I try to update regularly with my going-ons, writing wise.**

**9-23-07**

**12:50AM**


	2. Chapter 2

11-21-06

3:16pm

one-shot turned too long fic, couples- Shikamaru/Ino, Neji/Tenten, some Naruto/Hinata and Sakura/Sasuke and a smash of Kakashi/Anko

Summary- Tenten is being stalked and finally takes the chance to ask for Neji's help in the matter, as Kakashi's current volume of Icha Icha Paradise has gone missing and he's come to the conclusion it's been stolen. And Naruto and Hinata have just announced their engagement while Sakura and Sasuke are trying to help each other muddle through life, all the while there's a plot to push Ino and Shikamaru closer together. Life could only be less clear...

**Disclaimer- I do not own Naruto or any of the characters.**

**xoxo**

**Title-Hidden Leaves**

**Chapter 2**

**By-Moon Prynces**

**xoxo**

The blonde kunoichi found herself sighing as she scanned the aisles, searching. She pulled out a piece of paper and squinted down at it before turning down into another aisle.

After ten more minutes of something Ino was done grocery shopping. Truthfully, the errand she was running was for her mother. Even though she no longer lived with her parents she went shopping for them in return for a meal from her mom every once in a while.

Ino sighed again, thinking about how lately she'd been missing her mother's cooking a lot. She was no cook herself, only being able to make prepackaged meals and tea.

She soon left the store with two fairly light bags in her hands. Since the bomb that was yesterday's mission with Shikamaru, Ino felt she really needed some comfort food- her mother's cooking.

It was just lucky she'd thrown away the dumb idea of a diet a few years ago. Actually it was Naruto scarfing down delicious food in front of her face that made her change her mind.

"Hey! Ino!" She stopped and turned as a familiar voice called out to her.

Ino looked intently to see Chouji jogging towards her. "I'd say you're looking pretty fit Chouji." She commented with a grin.

He grinned back. "Well I do try. Especially since I know you'd probably still beat me up for eating my way to the hospital again." They both paused to recall the memory. "So where you headed?" He questioned.

She resumed her walk and Chouji followed along side her. "My parents place. Just getting some things for a home-cooked meal." She motioned to the bags in her hands.

"I would offer to carry them but I wouldn't want to imply you being weak or anything." Chouji joked with an easy smiled.

"Lazy." She muttered, smiling as well. "Where are you going anyway?" Ino glanced over and realized how tall Chouji was beside her.

"Actually, I was on my way to see Shikamaru." He said, and if Ino was certain, she might think his voice came out sounding sly, as if he were implying something.

Then it kicked in about who he was talking about. Suddenly she found herself stopping dead in her tracks. Chouji paused a few steps ahead and turned to look at her.

"Hey you tricked me!" Ino accused. "You were leading me here on purpose!"

Chouji shrugged. "Maybe it just never crossed your mind that your house was in the same direction as Shikamaru's favorite spot." Then he grinned. "Why does it matter? Do you mind stopping by and saying hi to him?" He asked, folding his arms and looking amused.

"He already told you!" Ino complained, looking at her friend with narrowed eyes. Then she trudged forward and followed Chouji as they cut across the field to a blob of brown and black that laid on the grass.

"Hey Shikamaru." Chouji greeted, taking a seat next to him.

Ino exhaled and also took a seat on Shikamaru's other side. Being very attuned to the world as he now was, even with his eyes closed the jounin knew someone else was there.

When he finally opened his eyes he saw Chouji grinning on his left and Ino miserably picking at the grass on his right. Definitely like old times. Except that they were older and more mature.

"Hey Chouji." He nodded to his best friend. "Ino." He turned to her. And remembered something. "Hey, isn't this the kinda thing you were talking about before Ino?" He asked, sitting up and scratching behind his head.

Ino smiled slowly, her hands eventually stopped picking at the scenery before she turned to the two. "Guess so. Maybe a little boring, but here we are."

Chouji's confused look said it all. "What're you two talking about?"

Shikamaru laid back down, hands tucked under his head. "She was complaining about how we never hang out anymore." He stared up at the bright sky. It wasn't even noon yet.

"Guess you're glad I caught her when I did then, huh?" Chouji smirked, making Shikamaru shift uneasily.

"So is this how you two plan on spending your day?" Ino rolled her eyes at the two. "Don't you have any reports to fill out? Or any work to be done?"

Chouji shrugged.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru mumbled.

She reached out. Tentatively at first, staring blankly. Before grabbing a fistful of hair. Ino yanked Shikamaru's head lightly, he innocent look remained as he cursed and grabbed his head.

"Ow! What the-" Shikamaru's eyes almost popped out and he sat up still holding his head after she let go. Chouji chuckled at the exchange, so typical.

"Just wondering." Ino shrugged nonchalantly. When he glared she went on defensively. "Your hair's soft! I've always loved it!" She found herself fingering the end of her own ponytail.

Chouji kept laughing as his best friend mumbled a few more things as he tried to fix his hair.

Yeah, typical. And yet he could swear there was something, something that his two friends probably would never notice. So maybe he should help them along. And if nothing else, it would be darn funny to watch. Ino' voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Hey Chouji, I haven't been able to see your mom and dad in ages. Would you tell them I say hi? I'll try to drop by when I can." She said lightly.

"What?" Shikamaru feigned a surprised look. "Don't you have anymore missions to screw over?" He shot, still holding his hair.

"Hey, I'm not the one to blame." Ino frowned. "At least, not just me. I'm not the only one at fault."

"You jumped me!"

"I did not! It was only a hug!"

"Missions aren't the appropriate time for hugs!"

"Don't be silly! It was just a spur of the moment thing." Ino admonished, looking away.

Chouji kept his mouth shut and observed. Darn, if only he had a bag of chips, or anything to snack on right now! It was actually kind of like a sport, watching these two argue. Because in the end they all know it didn't mean a thing.

But he decided it was time to intervene.

"Isn't it weird?" He asked, making the bickering pair look to him. "Naruto and Hinata getting married?" There was a silence as they all thought this over. Then he released the bomb. Which really was something even though he had overheard Ino the night they had announced the engagement. "Say Ino, when are you gonna get married?"

"W-what?" She sputtered, looking shocked.

Shikamaru's face twisted into slight annoyance. "Why're you asking her? She's too picky to just settle for one guy to be with for the _rest of her life._" He smirked, closing his eyes as he lay there.

Chouji looked between the two, even though Shikamaru seemed not to be paying any attention. "Well, come on. Out of the three of us Ino's the most likely to get married first." He also smirked. "And you talk about her being picky? What about you Mr. Hot-Shot jounin? I don't see you going on dates or anything."

Ino stared at him. "Wait a minute! Who says I'm getting married first?!" She asked frantically.

Shikamaru peeked open an eye. "What's the matter? Scared?" He barely paused for a response. "Thought so."

"Why are we talking about this again?" Ino moaned softly, shoving her face into her hands to hide the embarrassment.

Chouji grinned. It was pretty funny to see their reactions to this topic. Although neither seemed to care much for it.

"What about you, huh?" He was brought back as Shikamaru posed the question on him.

Chouji stared blankly for a moment before realizing. He shrugged. "Dunno really. It'll just happen when it happens."

Ino looked up. "Now that just sounds like something Shikamaru would say."

"Psh, thinking about that kinda stuff is troublesome." He muttered.

Chouji looked back at Ino. "Now there's something Shikamaru would say."

There was a brief moment of silence in which the two boys expected a response from Ino. A response that never came.

Instead the blonde hopped to her feet. "I should probably get home. My mom'll have a fit if I let the food spoil out on a warm day like this." She smiled cheerfully, bags already in hand and turned to leave.

Eyes narrowed, mouths frowned and Shikamaru, being closer, grabbed her ankle before she could take a second step.

"What's going on?" The genius of the three asked. Although it wouldn't take a genius to figure something was up.

Ino attempted a laugh. "What're you talking about?" She asked, trying to shake off his hand. When she realized he wouldn't let go she frowned. "Shika let go!" She demanded.

Being the only one with a tactful mind at the moment, Chouji spoke. "Are you okay Ino? I know you don't like to hear about certain topics and all but you're practically running away. And haven't you always said that Yamanaka Ino does not run away?" He stared up honestly at her. Shikamaru nodded in agreement.

Ino continued to frown down at the two, still pretending nothing was wrong. She slowly sat down, bags on her side as she held them tightly. It looked like she was ready to run at a moment's notice, no matter what Chouji had said. The frown was still there too; like she was convinced some injustice was being done to her.

Shikamaru and Chouji glanced at each other, wondering what the hell to do.

"Anything you care to tell us about?" Came Shikamaru's clipped voice.

"Like what?" Ino asked back, her tone the same as his. She looked up to see Chouji's worried face and Shikamaru's hard look. She froze and looked away, conjuring a fake coughing fit. "Okay." She said weakly in resignation. "If I tell you guys... you can't get mad at me. You won't, will you?" Ino looked back at the two with and earnest face.

They nodded, wondering what the hell was going on.

"Uh..." She began to fidget with her hair again, letting go of the grocery bags. "Okay, well the truth is..." She frowned and furrowed her brows.

When Shikamaru opened his mouth to say something like 'spit it out already', Chouji grabbed his shoulder and shook his head.

Ino was still struggling. "Er... actually... someone has proposed to me already." And after spilling the short jumble of words she threw her hands up to cover her face in shame and to act as a shield between her and her friends.

The two blinked, confused at the information.

"What?" Shikamaru asked.

"So... you're getting married?" Chouji questioned.

The Nara boy turned to look at his best friend incredulously. Chouji just shrugged. They turned to see Ino's position. Once again, being closer, Shikamaru grabbed one of her hands and pulled it down, away from her face.

He frowned deeply. "Wait, what's going on?"

"Well, I- It just- I didn't know, or expected-" Ino stuttered, stopping herself from completing a full sentence.

"Just... start at the beginning." Chouji said offering an encouraging smile.

She sighed and waited a moment. "Okay. It was this guy I was dating. We had been going out for a few months and all and it was pretty serious." She looked distraught. "At least, he was pretty serious and into it all. And after about six months he... asked me... to marry him." Ino turned red as she abruptly stopped.

Shikamaru's frown was fixed. "When was this? Why didn't you ever tell us?"

"It happened," She paused to exhale. "A year ago."

"But you were only seventeen then! You couldn't have gotten married!" Shikamaru argued. Chouji watched and thought it over.

Ino turned away. "Well, he was older. And anyway he knew, I'm sure his plan was to wait for me until I was old enough."

The Nara boy scoffed. "So how old was he exactly?"

Her eyes flickered around, trying to distract herself. "Um... twenty-five."

Hi eyes almost popped out. "What?! That's almost ten years your senior!"

"You promised not to get mad at me!" Ino looked at him tearfully, biting her lip and glancing at Chouji.

"I'm not mad _at you!_ Just... it's just overwhelming to hear about..." He mumbled to himself.

Finally, Chouji responded, bringing up the important issue. "What did you say?" He asked quietly, already knowing what to expect. Shikamaru also looked at her expectantly.

Ino stared at her friends, wide-eyed. "No." She whispered to herself. Then louder, "No." She rolled her eyes, trying to gain her wits.

"How come?" Shikamaru asked suspiciously, awaiting a stupid Ino-like answer.

"What do you mean?" She shot back irritably. "I was seventeen, like you said. Getting married was the last thing on my mind at the time." She huffed. "Besides... I wasn't in love with him," A brief pause. "Like he was with me."

While trying to take in the enormity of it he went on. "So then, did anyone know about this at all?"

Ino averted her eyes. "Sakura did. And my parents of course. I had to tell them, couldn't not say it." She mumbled off.

Chouji came up with the next brilliant question. "So what happened with him after that?"

Shikamaru was about to add, 'yeah, are you still seeing him?' but thought better of it.

"We broke up. Or I broke up with him. And avoided him desperately. I just couldn't look at him and remember he was still in love with me." Ino pulled up her knees and linked her arms around them, looking off into the distance.

She blinked in surprise as a hand patted her on the shoulder affectionately. She looked up to smile at Chouji who had crawled over from Shikamaru's side. She threw he arms around Chouji in a hug. Shikamaru looked uncomfortable, not being such an affectionate person.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys sooner." She whispered into her friend's shoulder. She pulled back, eyeing Shikamaru. Chouji remembered what Shikamaru had said from their mission, and grinned.

"Tch." He looked around and they expected him to mumble his favorite word, but instead said something else. "It's okay I guess. You had your reasons and all that." Was his response.

For his unexpected understanding Ino smiled wider and threw herself on him for a hug as well. Shikamaru fell back with a small laugh as she laid on him in a hug.

A few seconds barely passed before Chouji whistled at the two as they separated and sat up, Ino moved next to him. She looked at Chouji quizzically.

"What?" Shikamaru asked, looking at his friend's grin.

"Just wondering. Was that a demonstration of what happened yesterday?" He asked. Shikamaru glared and Ino just shook her head with a small smile. He continued as the three of them stood up, Ino picking up her forgotten bags. "Just tell me when you guys want some alone time so I won't go blind from having to watch."

Ino's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. "What?!"

Shikamaru pushed his friend playfully. "Yeah, okay. The day Ino and I get romantically involved, Kakashi will stop reading Icha Icha Paradise." He joked.

Ino paled, remembering what the girls had tried to convince her of yesterday. Shikamaru, also realizing his mistake, glared at Chouji who was still grinning at the two.

"Better not jinx it." Chouji warned mockingly.

**xoxo**

Tenten hurriedly tried to throw her clothes on after a short shower. She had found herself sleeping in late, where as the days before she hardly slept at all. She figured it was because she stopped stressing over the problem that had arisen a few days ago.

It was her day off, and she had planned to meet up with Neji, Lee and Gai-sensei for a training session. Although now she was unsure of the time and was trying to get there as soon as possible in case she was late.

But, she thought to herself, if she had been extremely late one of them would have come to see if something was wrong. Because really, she wasn't one to sleep in so late... so often.

"Damnit." She cursed, grabbing her scrolls and shoving them into a bag. A bunch of magazines and coasters along with other things fell off the coffee table.

Then she turned around to stuff kunai and shuriken in various concealed pockets on her person, trying to calm herself and not accidentally get injured.

When she was finally done and stood up with her things, Tenten opened her front door... and looked down to see a white envelope waiting on her doormat.

She stared down at it fearfully. As she bent down to pick it up she prayed it was from a neighbor or something, although there was absolutely nothing written on the envelope, she could feel something inside it.

But if the nervous face she was pulling was any indication, Tenten knew what was coming. She slowly stood back up after picking it up and dropped her bag on the floor, still standing in the doorway. She held the envelope gingerly with both hands.

After a deep sigh, she turned it over and opened it, and proceeded to pull out the one lone paper. And almost fainted on the spot.

Tenten blushed and looked around frantically, shoving it back in the envelope, heading right back into her house, kicking her bag on the way. She shut the door and locked all five locks, bolts and chains. A gift from her paranoia after she received the first one.

**xoxo**

An hour later, Lee, Neji and Gai-sensei found themselves at Tenten's front door, pounding on it exuberantly. The only sane one of the group groaned to himself. Lee and Gai-sensei had insisted they all cancel training for today and head over to Tenten's place to see what was wrong.

When they got no response, Neji and Lee looked at each other nervously.

"Should we break down the door?" Neji asked, looking from his friend to his teacher.

Lee shook his head. "Tenten would never forgive us for causing such destruction upon her home. Maybe we can," He looked thoughtful with his hand on his chin. "Pick the lock?"

Gai looked thrilled. "That sounds like a great idea! We can avoid damaging Tenten's property and get inside quickly! She might be in trouble!" He looked worried for a moment. Then, "So do any of you know how to pick a lock?"

The two looked at each other.

"Well... no..." Neji answered.

Lee looked disappointed. "I also do not have the skills required for such a task. Now what will we do?"

"Well, there's always a chance to learn!" Gai responded, giving them both a pat on the back with his hands. "Now get to it before something terrible happens to our dear comrade!" He smiled heartily, not believing his own words. Tenten was too strong and stubborn to be in so much trouble, _in her own home. _In fact her home was probably one big booby trap with hidden weapons and things everywhere.

"But what could we use to pick the lock with?" Lee asked, looking up at Gai and then to Neji.

"Uh..." Although Neji knew this was a stupid idea, he didn't really mind. There was probably nothing at all wrong with Tenten, maybe she was just sleeping or forgot about training. But then, she had asked about it yesterday, to confirm it. He sighed, pulling out something from a pocket. "Here."

Lee stared, taking the object in hand. "This is one of Tenten's throwing needles. Why do you have it Neji?" He asked curiously.

The Hyuuga just shrugged. "I have a bunch of them. Sometimes she's too tired and forgets to gather them. I always forget to give them back to her."

The other grinned. "Alright! Now we can begin our task!" Lee made a pose before turning to inspect the doorknob. Gai and Neji stood back, waiting.

After ten minutes, they realized it hadn't been all that bad to pick a lock. There had been a lot of complaining between the three and taking turns in their attempts, but they had gotten the hang of it and finally picked the lock successfully.

They shared a triumphant smile. Lee turned the knob and tried to push the door open... only to find it wouldn't budge at all. He stared back at the other two, wide-eyed and in disbelief. Neji pushed him over and tried as well, shaking his head.

"There's more than one lock." He stated.

"But are no more keyholes to pick." Lee held up the needle.

Neji tried pushing the door and heard a few jingles. "There's probably a bolt... and a chain too."

Gai stood back, contemplating all this. "Something serious must be going on inside there. We have to get in to check on Tenten's condition."

"Maybe she isn't even home." Neji shrugged, trying to settle all their nerves.

While trying to take in this idea, they were all secretly looking around the house with their eyes for another way in. And then a few knocks and clicks were heard before the door flew open.

Tenten stood there with her hair in a mess and wielding a ladle. She was breathing heavily but upon seeing her team she relaxed her stance.

"Hey guys! What's up?" She managed to say, mustering up a very cheerful voice.

"Tenten are you okay?" Gai asked concernedly. "You didn't show up for training this morning and no one answered when we knocked. We tried to find a way in, but..." He trailed off. "Please, if there is anything that concerns you, you should be able to come to your sensei for help." He said assuredly.

Lee started to speak. "May we come in? We have decided to cancel training today so we came to see you."

Tenten stared at the three of them blankly. "No!" She answered quickly and a little too eagerly. "I mean... I must've just dozed off and forgotten about the training. Sorry about that!" She smiled apologetically. "And my place is a mess so there isn't any room for you guys to come in."

Neji folded his arms and eyed her suspiciously. He did get a glance inside before she pulled the door closed behind her. It was a mess, but it seemed more like she had made it herself... or at least someone did it on purpose.

"Uh, it's sweet that you guys were worried and all but there's no problem here." Tenten said with a nervous laugh. "And I really need to get back to cleaning, you don't mind right?"

"Aw, but we were planning to go out to eat, just like old times!" Lee said sadly.

She shook her head. "I'm really sorry. But I gotta get back in there and clean up. I wouldn't feel right leaving it a big mess."

"It's alright Tenten, we understand." Gai said, over exaggerating as he put a hand on her shoulder. "But if you do change your mind, just come by our usual place. There will be plenty of food in case you do!"

"You know," Neji started off, shifting his gaze from Lee and Gai to Tenten. "Maybe I should stay and help you out." He said to her. "It looks pretty bad in there and it'd be easier if there were someone around to help you, right?"

She smiled awkwardly. "Actually, that's okay! I mean... there are some personal things I'm going through and I don't want anyone to see them as I clean out all the stuff. So... yeah."

Gai and Lee grabbed Neji by the shoulders and dragged him off, saying their goodbyes to Tenten. Neji was still watching her carefully as they left.

Once they were out of sight she sighed to herself and retreated back into the house, tossing the ladle onto a couch and locking everything on the front door.

Everything was a mess. A big horrible mess. She looked around, trying to remember where she had left off.

The truth was that she had been looking for something. Looking for anything actually. She had gone through every room in the house, which wasn't a lot, trying to find proof. Of course there was the picture, which was proof enough.

Now she was afraid to be anywhere near her house. Afraid to take a shower, or change her clothes at all, or just live in her house.

And she couldn't find a camera or anything anywhere!

Tenten kicked at a pile of stuff on the floor in anger, eyes tearing up.

Then glanced up in surprise, hearing someone knock at her window, before letting themselves in. She cursed herself for forgetting to lock them all and furiously wiped at her eyes with her arm.

Neji stood in the middle of the room, staring at her stoically. "What's going on?" He asked, his voice sounding expectant and slightly exasperated, like he already knew something was up.

She stared at him after clearing her face. "I'm cleaning." She moved to pick up something but he was suddenly in front of her and grabbed her arm in midair as she had bent over.

Tenten looked up slowly, not moving. She still moved to pick up the shirt with her other hand and pulled back to stand up, making Neji let go of her arm. He kept staring at her, waiting.

"Nothing's going on." She said, trying to concentrate on folding the shirt in her hands. After a moment she found it impossible and abruptly threw it across the room with a cry of frustration. Neji watched all this without blinking or reacting. "It's nothing alright! Can you just leave so I can clean?!" She shouted at him, surprised at herself.

"If that isn't proof enough that something's wrong then here's the list of things I've gathered." He said logically. "First you've been distracted for the past few days. I can see it in your work or just trying to have a conversation. And then yesterday you borrowed my shredder for what? You were getting rid of something, hiding something. I just don't know what." The Hyuuga folded his arms and furrowed his brows, still staring her down.

The nineteen-year old kunoichi sighed, walking around him and taking a seat on her couch. "Can I tell you about it later?" She looked tired. And then an idea came to her. "Hey, do you mind if I sleep over at your place?" And suddenly she was back to being eager, overexcited Tenten.

Neji blinked in confusion, his arms loosening. "Uh... why?" He followed this up with a cough to hide his embarrassment.

"Well, it's just..." She looked around desperately. "I can't give you a good reason just yet. And I promise it'll only be for a few nights! I won't bother you at all! Please Neji!" Tenten jumped up and hopped in front of him, with a pleading look and her hands clasped in front of her.

He looked uncomfortable for a moment. "Sure I guess... it's no problem really." Then winced as she squealed and started grabbing clothes and things to throw into a bag.

"Do you mind if we start this right now?" She asked, not looking up from her current task.

Neji raised an eyebrow. "I thought you couldn't bear to leave all this unfinished." He said suspiciously, motioning to the mess around them.

Tenten didn't answer and wandered around the room, making her way to the bedroom. He followed her and stared in surprise again to learn that her bedroom and even bathroom were in a state of disarray worse than the living room/kitchen area.

He opened his mouth to ask something but then shook his head, thinking it better to wait until later. He would probably try cornering her next time because even asking outright didn't get him anywhere.

She shrieked. "Hey! Don't come in! I'm getting personal things!" Tenten shouted at him.

Neji looked confused; he was only standing in the doorway. But even with the distance he could see the items she was talking about. In all their pink and red and laced glory. He ducked his head and stepped away from the room.

**xoxo**

Meanwhile, another Hyuuga was strolling down the streets of Konoha, decidedly taking a walk to clear her head. It was a wonderful feeling, being in love and having someone feel the same way back. She knew she was lucky to have Naruto.

And now that they were engaged and would get married in a matter of months she was elated and excited. There wasn't much that could prevent the wonderfully bubbly feeling inside her.

Except when her mind wandered to a certain topic, and in fact, to a specific couple.

Hinata looked up at the cloudless sky, a breeze wrapping around her, sending her skirt flying around. She didn't bother to hold it down, knowing she was in one of the most deserted areas of the village. But she did huff in irritation.

'Of all the days! The one time I decide to put on a skirt.' Hinata thought crossly, wrinkling her nose.

She walked on past empty alleys and deserted food stands. The houses even looked empty, like no one lived there. The dark-haired girl finally made it out into an open view of fields that looked untouched.

Then she realized why.

It was only a few yards away from the burial sites of Konoha's citizens. More importantly, it was near Asuma's grave. And if she hadn't known it before she definitely knew now.

Because Kurenai was kneeling down, staring at his headstone.

Hinata watched from afar and wanted to leave. But there were things she felt she needed to talk about with her old sensei. She waited and eventually Kurenai stood up and noticed her.

Strange though her previously somber face, reserved for just one person in particular turned into an inviting smile as she waved for Hinata to come over.

Hinata did feel strangely about interrupting Kurenai, but then sighed in relief as the older woman also walked forward to meet her halfway.

"Hinata-chan, how are you? Why are you wandering around here by yourself?" She asked with a smile.

Said girl looked up. "Actually I wanted to talk with you Kurenai-sensei. Do you mind..."

"No, of course not!" Kurenai led Hinata away from the burial sites, much to her relief, and back through the same empty streets. "Was there something on your mind?" She smiled at the younger girl.

Hinata looked away at first, concentrating on their surroundings. "It's just..." She looked pained to think about it, let alone bring up the topic. With a burst of energy she said it. "About Asuma-sensei."

Like a slap in the face, her smile was instantly wiped away. "What about him?" Kurenai asked, looking straight ahead.

"I'm so sorry sensei, it's just... Well I know it isn't something you wish to discuss." Hinata paused trying to understand herself what she wanted out of this conversation. "But, now Naruto and I are engaged. And soon we'll be married. I just want to know... about you, and him. Were you in love with him Kurenai-sensei?" Hinata looked over to her teacher.

Kurenai blinked and stared around. "Yes." She admitted quietly. "What was it you wanted to know?"

Hinata looked back down, struggling for words. "How did... you know? That you were in love with him." She added.

Staring ahead again, in a no-nonsense manner she answered. "It's not something you think about too much." She replied softly. "Sometimes you can be in love with someone for a very long time. And you'll only know when you realize it yourself. For some people they need a little help seeing the truth." Her smile came back and she looked to the other. "Is that how you feel about Naruto?"

"It's how I've felt about him for a long time. I never denied to myself how I felt. I just hid it from people until I felt ready to say it out loud." Hinata smiled at herself.

Kurenai looked surprised, but it eased into a smile as well. "I'm proud of you, you know that right? I love you and respect you as if you were a daughter of mine."

Hinata nodded, her long, dark hair swaying with her. Then she winced and her face went stoic, as if she were imitating her older cousin. "But there was something else." A pause. "If you loved Asuma so much... how- how did you move on without him?" She looked up fearfully.

The older woman nodded, still smiling, wisdom showing on her features. "You're worried about something."

"Nothing's certain anymore Kurenai." She said in a neutral voice, purposely forgetting the honorific. "I've learned too much through the years to think Naruto and I will just live happily ever after in fairytale land. What if..." Hinata stopped walking, making Kurenai follow suit. "What if Naruto doesn't come back from a mission? How do I- How would I move on from something like that?" Despite the emotion in her voice, there weren't any tears in her eyes.

Kurenai lifted her student's chin with a hand and stared at her face. "You'll cry," She started softly. "A lot." Was added. "And for a while, you will think... that maybe you won't be able to live on. But you will. One day at a time. And it'll always be hard, like trying to walk through water with the currents pushing you back." She stared into Hinata's eyes. "But it isn't the same for everyone. Sometimes it's hard, and sometimes not so much."

The girl's brave face fell as her teacher enveloped her in a hug. After a while Kurenai pulled back. "Have you talked to Kiba and Shino yet?" She asked sternly.

"No," Hinata shook her head, wiping the tears that wouldn't spill. "I will though. Of course I will. And Neji too."

Kurenai's look was radiant. "You've grown up so much." She said, stroking Hinata's hair affectionately. "Are you sure that's all you wanted to know?"

"No." Was the answer. "But I'm sure I'll figure it out by myself, or maybe with the help of others. Right now I think I've asked you enough." Hinata gave an apologetic look.

"You can always come to ask me anything. Don't worry about those things." Kurenai moved back and they picked up their pace again.

"I can't help it! I need to worry about you Kurenai-sensei." Hinata grinned cheekily. "And I'm sure Kiba and Shino feel the same way." Then she looked a little doubtful. "Although they are too stupid to show it." Then rolled her eyes. "Men."

"Is that Sakura rubbing off on you?"

The two giggled and went on joking like great friends. The mood lightened as they walked through what was thought to be the gloomiest part of the village. They didn't pay attention to the grey stone and lack of sunlight, only enjoyed whatever trivial thing was on their minds.

**xoxo**

No matter how stupid she knew she sounded, Sakura kept telling herself that she was not worried. In fact, she could feel herself getting a little angry at the situation.

She hadn't seen Sasuke in a few days. She remembered falling asleep on the couch yesterday afternoon but he never came home that night. And although she had work, the kunoichi had come home expecting him to be there. But nothing.

'You would think he would at least be a little grateful!' She thought to herself, holding herself erect as she marched through the streets, discreetly looking around for him.

Sakura had to admit on some level that maybe, just _maybe_ she was a little worried about him. And then she would get deja vu, because this is exactly what she had been doing yesterday. Griping over stupid Sasuke. But what was it her problem really? All they did was live together. They hardly spoke or acknowledged each other. And she could barely call that friendship.

But it didn't matter, because like it or not, she had fallen into routine. And he was a part of it. Him just being there was a part of it. Him looking up as she opened the front door and walked it. Him silently passing her a glass of water when she walked into the kitchen where he already occupied. Him lying on a bed next to her.

She knew for a fact she wasn't crushing on him anymore. She knew she wasn't obsessed. It had to be that... he was just something that was supposed to be in her life, daily routine, and now he had been misplaced.

Yes, just like keys or a book or the left shoe you could never find. Something that you needed to live with.

Sakura strode past various places, smiling, nodding and saying hello to just about everybody. It was eerie how well-known and well-respected she had become. She found she was proud of herself every time this kind of thing happened. Not because she was the center of attention, but because she had a key role in their village. She was important to somebody, the people of Konoha in general.

The pink-haired girl finally stopped herself from tiring further on this ridiculous outing to find someone so elusive and... unnecessary. Really, she could definitely live without that left shoe.

**xoxo**

Kakashi spotted her and swooped in.

"Hello." He greeted, putting a hand up. His sneaky tactics and her inattentiveness caused him to surprise her, so she jumped out of her skin when he appeared behind her.

Sakura glared up at her sensei. "Hi Kakashi-sensei. How are you today?"

He looked around uninterestedly, hands in his pockets, and usual slouch in position. "Well I did receive a mission a yesterday. I leave in about a week." He commented, as if trying to bore her.

"Nothing too dangerous right?" She asked anxiously.

"No, just easy stuff. What about you? And Sasuke?" He questioned lightly.

The pink-haired girl was slightly taken aback. Kakashi-sensei hardly acknowledged Sasuke's existence since his return to the village. This was surprising. And suspicious. Her brows furrowed. "Well, nothing interesting lately. And Sasuke." She averted her eyes. "He hasn't done anything at all since he came back." She said, her voice getting smaller as the sentence ended. "I'm not sure but... can we even regard him as a ninja anymore? He seems to have... given up."

Kakashi held her gaze with an intense look. "Once a shinobi, always a shinobi. There is no way to back out once you've started something or spilled blood with that intent." He said darkly.

She looked at him carefully. "Kakashi-sensei... I'm wondering. Now that your team has grown up, what do you think of us all? Have we turned out the way you expected or wanted to?" Sakura questioned with a tilt of the head.

He moved a hand from his pocket to his chin. "Well... I didn't expect anything from you all, but that you push yourselves as far as you could go. Having expectations for people and even for yourself sometimes have the opposite effect. They might weigh you down and not help at all." Then he shrugged. "And if this is as far as Sasuke feels he can go... then it is his decision."

Her eyes widened. "You don't mean he'd-"

"Being suicidal? We've all gone through, or will go through a phase like that. Doing everything we can, taking any mission we get, to prove something or become stronger or to protect the people we care about. And some end up dying that way." He shrugged, but his tone said it was a serious matter.

"Do you think he will then?" She asked, looking away.

"I'm not sure." He looked up at the clouds. "He might."

There was a pause as the two looked around and space between the last topic and the one to come became larger. Finally Kakashi opened his mouth.

"Say Sakura?" He asked, looking sheepish and scratching his temple with a finger. "Have you seen my book anywhere?"

She blinked, staring at him. Then, "What?" She asked, unsure if she heard right.

"My book. Just wondering. If you don't know anything forget I said something." He said, changing his mind as quickly as his attacks.

He waved and bid her goodbye and turned to leave, mentally crossing her off his list. He really did feel like he was still getting no where with that book.

Damnit, and by now he would be almost done with it. Whoever had taken it would definitely pay for making him miss out on it for the past few days. It was torture.

He walked off lazily, hands in his pockets again, wishing he had something to hold.

Maybe he should think about asking Kurenai. She might have taken it as a joke in Asuma's honor, seeing as how he wasn't here to do it himself.

**xoxo**

Ino looked up from where she stood bent over, catching a glimpse of spiky hair before dropping a plastic bag into the garbage can outside her house. When she stood up the figure was moving steadily closer.

"Hello Shikamaru." She greeted, letting her eyes wander around to the floor. Her hand moved to rub anxiously at her elbow.

"Uh, hey." He greeted, about to open his mouth again and say something stupid like, 'hey what're you doing here?'. Luckily though his brain kicked itself in time. Shikamaru stopped as he got close enough, standing in front of her. He also averted his gaze to the sky.

"So, why are you wandering the streets at a time like this?" She questioned, glancing up at him.

His hands were shoved in his pockets. "Just wanted to take a walk, restless I suppose." He shrugged carelessly.

Of course the obvious source of discomfort for the two was Chouji's little joke earlier, his teasing that the pair would become just that. A pair. In the non-platonic kind of way.

It wasn't that she was actually considering the possibility, Ino told herself repeatedly. Shikamaru was one of her oldest friends and she would never go out with him, even if she ever discovered she had feelings for him. Their friendship was just too important to her.

And it wasn't because Chouji's plan to mess with his head was working, Shikamaru mumbled a few times to himself. Ino was definitely not his type. And they'd known each other for too long. It would be too awkward to ever look at her as anything but a friend. Besides that, he wasn't looking for a relationship.

And neither was she. So what was the problem? Why were they standing there all embarrassed instead of laughing it off as just a joke like Chouji had been doing?

"So how was that meal your mom made anyway?" Shikamaru asked, looking up and catching her eye.

The blonde let herself grin widely. "The absolute best. I'd give up any mission just to have dinner with my parents. Unless my dad's trying to cook." She wrinkled her nose at the thought.

He smirked. "Then shouldn't you be picking up some tips on trying to cook? Spending so much time with your mom even after you've moved, seems like there was no point in that then." Was the comment.

"Of course there was a point! My dad wouldn't let me bring guys home." Ino replied back with a mischievous look.

"Why not?" He asked, trying to sound innocent.

"Well, I do think they'd suspect something's going on when we're up alone in my room." She rolled her eyes.

Now Shikamaru grinned. "Right. You just can't resist temptation, huh?" He shook his head sadly.

"Hey! It's them who can't resist me." She responded haughtily. Then her eyes lowered bashfully. "Why, are you a virgin Nara?" Her question was a complete shock.

Shikamaru flushed a bit at the unexpectedness. When he did regain control his voice came out neutral. "I'll tell if you do." Was the answer.

Ino looked at him curiously, trying to break past his poker face. After that was found to be impossible she gave in. "Fine. I'll play along." A pause. "So what? You want me to go first?"

He yawned and nodded. Then looked at his empty wrist for the "time". "Waiting." He said casually, pointing to the imaginary watch.

She shoved him lightly, laughing along as he grinned. "No." The kunoichi answered suddenly, and he almost missed it.

"No?" He inquired, trying to make sure.

Ino just looked down at her nails in a bored fashion. "Waiting." She shot him with his own line.

"Nope." He said lightly, hands being shoved back into his pockets as he looked up at the darkening sky. The sun had already set.

"You're lying, aren't you?" She accused, staring him down.

Shikamaru grinned and looked back at her face. "Why would you think that? If you don't believe me, why don't I just prove it to you?"

And then like a bolt of lightening, or a stupid line from Naruto, it hit them both, almost knocking them out cold. And a voice, no doubt Chouji's, appeared in their heads.

_'Nice. But I'd think you guys would get past the flirting stage and just hit the bed already.'_ Followed by one of his grins.

_'What the hell?'_

_'Was I just-'_

_'Flirting?' _They both thought at the same time, blinking rapidly between themselves.

A gust of wind blew past the two, making Shikamaru shudder and Ino had to push her hair out of her eyes.

"I think I... need to get inside." Ino said suddenly, hands pointing towards the door.

He nodded. "Sure, I've gotta get home anyway." Shikamaru waved and turned to leave. Then muttered to himself, "Stupid Chouji."

Just as Ino turned around to walk inside and mumbled. "Nice try Chouji."

Because when in doubt, always blame it on somebody else.

**xoxo**

"I love this bed!" Tenten said happily as she jumped on it and bounced around.

Neji turned his eyes away as he walked into the room. His thoughts went to how this situation was brought up.

He had gone to his family, requesting as politely as possible for a guest bedroom to use because his friend and former teammate needed a place to stay. His excuse was that she had been kicked out by her landlord and had nowhere else to go. But when they learned it was a girl no one would look at him.

In fact, they turned around and huddled into a group like they were _trying_ to gang up on him. And then finally came to the decision that they did not approve. Although Neji could tell something was going on, because their faces were trying to crack into smiles and laughter. But he sighed and begged some more.

That is, until one of them said that if he was so desperate to have her stay in their house she might as well stay with him. In his bedroom. Using his personal bathroom. And closet space. And everything.

And of course thinking it was a joke he played it off, asking one more time before their faces split and everyone started laughing at the craziness they'd started. At this Neji could only sigh and leave, saying that he'd do what he saw fit to let her stay. And since the guest bedrooms had suddenly been locked there was no other choice.

He was sure this was some cruel joke they were playing. And if only he knew the truth, because it really was. Currently the bets that Neji would crack under the hormonal stress of being so close to a girl for so long was 23 to 1, the one being Hinata's younger sister who desperately wanted to believe in her cousin's strength against such impulses. Because thinking he would let his hormones consume him would give her too many nightmares.

And now it was already dark out when Neji finally introduced Tenten to his bedroom and bathroom. She was obviously excited about it but had yet to realize...

"Neji, where am I gonna sleep?" Came her all too innocent voice.

Neji looked up from where he had been going through a drawer. "Uh... well you can sleep in my bed. I am really sorry about this. But..." He already had the excuse ready. "It seems our guest bedrooms are being redone and there's paint fumes and stuff everywhere. It wouldn't be right to let you sleep in there." He looked away quickly after letting out the lie.

Tenten only smiled. "Thanks, that's really nice of you." She laid down and stretched across the bed leisurely. "But this bed's pretty big. We can just share! I'd feel too bad letting you sleep on the floor or something."

The Hyuuga looked up to stare at her blankly. She blushed under his intense gaze, then turned over, away from him.

"Do you wanna take a shower?" He asked.

They both froze and turned red, the unintended implication becoming clear. But since they weren't looking at each other, further embarrassment was spared.

"I mean, I'll go second." Neji said, correcting himself, not a hitch in his voice.

Tenten sighed and sat up. Was it really a wise idea? Her only thoughts brought her back to earlier today, and the picture she just couldn't get out of her head. She was a little freaked out, then wondered if maybe they had been followed.

She looked up to see her bag sitting in the corner where she'd dropped it. The picture was there. She hadn't had the time to destroy it just yet. And she had to be careful no one saw it.

Finally she answered, "Yeah, I think I will go take a shower." And then got up and grabbed her entire bag, walking into the bathroom and closing the door.

Neji let out a sigh of relief and turned to look at the wrinkles on the bed, the spot where she had been. Sure, he was nineteen. Sure, he had hormones. But he was also a level jounin ninja and this situation couldn't be nearly as bad as he thought.

It was only Tenten. His friend. His teammate. His most common partner in missions.

He moved to sit down on the bed and let his shoulders sag.

But then again, there was only a certain amount of time a guy hold out on himself. It was pretty predictable that he was a virgin. He'd spent the better part of his life training, trying to become stronger and rise in the ranks. He never made time to be a normal guy, go out on dates, have a social life except for the large group of friends he already had.

Now was the time to regret it. Because lying next to an available female on a bed and doing absolutely nothing would kill him. Or he'd just kill himself to spare himself the frustration and torture.

On the other side of the door Tenten prepared the pristine looking tub for a nice long bath. She dropped her bag on the floor carelessly, looking around and admiring the bathroom made for a mansion like this.

It did feel safer than her place. Maybe she hadn't been followed. Maybe there wasn't anything to worry about. Then again, that was what she had thought last time. Until the stalker or whoever it was had taken it up a notch. Just thinking about the sicko made her want to puke.

So instead she stripped off her clothes and slid into the water.

Neji was being pretty nice, offering her his room. She was lucky to have such a nice friend. Sure, maybe she could've asked Ino or something but it was a spur of the moment thing and now she was pretty glad for her lack of foresight.

She wasn't blind to notice he was acting kind of awkward. But she had also been strange as of late. She chalked it up to him reacting to her odd behavior.

But the innuendo with his shower question...

Well, it didn't matter. She was here and she would try as hard as humanly possible to stay out of his way and not take over his room. She had no idea when she'd head back home.

**xoxo**

Kakashi sighed to himself, wondering what possessed him to carry out such a stupid plan. Really, why in the world would anyone suspect Kurenai of doing something so low as stealing his book? It had to be the paranoia talking.

But thinking back to that day he really couldn't remember what had happened, until the point where he realized his book was missing. He could only rely on the information people gave him, which was frustrating, even though no one knew that because he kept his calm all the time.

Now it was time for him to go down the rest of his ridiculously thought out, list of "suspects".

He walked down the streets of Konoha with a careless manner, nodding to the few people that chose to say hi to him. The jounin had to pause mid-step to think over something. And he could only come to the conclusion that it had to be Anko!

Why else would she have tried to shift the blame to Kurenai? Why else would she have given him those smirks and evil looking gaze and smart-ass retorts? Well, besides the fact that they were just a part of her personality.

In truth Kakashi had hardly been putting any effort into finding his book, no matter how much he was missing its presence or pretending to try and find it. He did ask a few people around town, including Sakura, Anko, Kurenai and others. Some people could automatically be ruled out of the picture, like Naruto and Hinata, Neji, Tenten, Shikamaru, Chouji and a bunch more.

He had given consideration to Gai, because after all they were "rivals" and whatnot. But Gai had actually been away on a mission the day his book had disappeared.

But for some reason just thinking about his encounter with Anko the other day made signals go off in his head. And he couldn't help but listening to his gut instinct. It had to be her.

So this time he wasn't going to be nonchalant and beat around the bush. It was time to just rush in and get the information required, using whatever means necessary.

Even if this included sneaking into a fellow ninja's house at night while they were dead asleep.

Kakashi silently crept his way down the darkened street, counting houses as he went along.

But in his defense, it was only about seven or eight at night. Although Anko had been known to go home and pass out to dreamland by five or six, or whenever she was done with work and eating dumplings.

Unfortunately the address Kakashi had received earlier was floating around somewhere in his head. Meaning, he had asked, it had been given, and now he'd forgotten. So he did what almost any person in this position would do.

He picked the most innocent looking house out of the two choices.

84? 83? 84? 83? That had to be it...

The shinobi silently walked up the stone pathway, not bothering to conceal himself. Going through the front door seemed like suicide, whether or not she was awake. So was choosing to go through any door or window. But he did have to take a risk.

There had to be at least one window Anko hadn't set a trap for. And knowing her, it would be just to let an intruder in so she could congratulate him on guessing right and then kicking his ass.

So he carefully studied the innocent looking house, walking around it fully at least twice. Until he spotted the only window that was closed. All the others were open an inch or had a crack some way through; trying to deceive people into thinking it would be easy to get into.

The window was on the second floor, no problem for him to get up to. But what would he do once he got inside? Well... that could only be decided once he knew what he was up against.

The spiky-haired shinobi expertly thrust off the ground and landed on the roof directly above the window. He paused, knowing that if he wasn't quiet enough she'd beat him to a pulp for the entire neighborhood to see. Then he breathed a sigh of relief when he didn't hear any sound come from inside.

Finally, he leaned over the edge upside down, peering into the dark house through his chosen window. There wasn't anyone waiting with a katana from what he could see. Slowly he pulled open the window, thinking about how stupid he must look to any neighbor looking out their own windows right about now. Which is why he quickly flipped over into the house, rolling on the floor and stopping himself before hitting any furniture or wall.

Kakashi stayed crouched for a moment, trying to sense any movements or breathing other than his own. What he did happen to hear was a snort coming from what had to be a bed.

'Now that's strange... she hasn't woken up.' He thought, scratching his head and standing up. Cautiously he walked over to the bed to a sight unlike anything he'd ever seen.

And unfortunately for him this sight caused him to trip over himself and come crashing down onto the floor with a loud... splat.

"What the..." Anko mumbled incoherently, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. It took a few seconds too long for her to realize someone else was in her bedroom.

Thus, her attempt to pull the almost transparent sheets over her practically nude body was a little too late. For Kakashi had seen... enough of it.

"You downright pervert." She growled, wrapping the sheet around her body several times to cancel out the transparency and then getting out of bed.

Kakashi rubbed his sore shoulder, because that was what he had landed on in his clumsy fall. "Anko, what a surprise." He tried, looking up into her furious eyes.

"I didn't think reading all those perverted books led to these kind of actions or I would have gladly put Jiraiya out of business with a swift kick to the groin!" She spoke, seething. "Why are you here?" Anko demanded, standing up tall and giving him a look.

Which only made the sheets hold tighter. Kakashi glanced away and cursed himself. Apparently reading those books had put _some_ ideas into his head. And now was definitely not the time for them to arise either. Not while he was facing almost certain death.

Anko kicked him with her foot. But being a level jounin for a reason he easily held out an arm to block it, without turning back to her. Which made him wonder... wasn't the house dark? Why was it that he could see clear enough to have caught her sleeping in the nude anyway?

"You have a nightlight?" He questioned, his gaze followed the light to its source.

If he could see, Anko had turned red. "It's dark at night! How else would I find my way to the bathroom or kitchen?" She argued, pushing her foot further against his arm, both still raised in mid-air. "Or to spot perverts like you stealing into my house!"

"I'm really sorry to have startled you," He began again, looking back up at her, trying desperately to concentrate on her face.

And this did not go unnoticed by her of course. A smirk crossed over her face when he glanced away again. She moved her foot back to the ground. "You're not gonna sit there all night, are you? What's your excuse? Better view?" She asked teasingly.

Kakashi shrugged in his careless manner and stood up at her insistence. "Now, I'm really sorry I have to do this."

Her eyes went blank. "Do what-?"

But her words were cut off as he lunged at her, securing her hands behind her body with one hand and the other landing smack on her mouth, preventing her from speaking. Not missing a beat, before she could try to kick her way out of this one he performed some trick he'd obviously learned a very long time ago and soon had her hands tied with rope that he must have had hidden up those sleeves of his. And then roughly, although not intentionally, he shoved her back down onto the bed, writhing around like a worm.

"What the hell are you doing?" She screamed, not bothering with the sheet.

Kakashi quickly strode over and closed the window, trying to make as little noise as possible. He was rewarded when no one from any of the other houses appeared at their windows or doors in worry.

"Bastard!" Anko yelled again, moving around violently as if something were on fire. "Untie me right now and I just _might_ kill you quickly!"

He turned around after pulling the shades, the only way they were able to see being the nightlight in the corner. His one visible eye staring in her own as he walked closer.

"I'm done playing around here Anko." He said carefully, taking a seat on the side of the bed. "I want my book back." Kakashi stated, looking dead serious.

It took a moment for his words to sink in, and when they did she burst out laughing like a maniac. His look didn't falter. "You've- You're kidding right?" Anko asked cheekily. "Why would I want your stupid, pervert book anyway? What could I possibly have use for them?" She questioned, licking her lips and giving a seductive look.

"Never said you'd need it." He replied, leaning over her frame, placing one hand on the other side of her body. "But maybe you thought it'd be funny to see me running around looking for it. Maybe it was just a harmless joke. Or maybe, you're just crazy like everyone seems to think." He continued.

Anko immediately glared at the last suggestion. "I don't have your stupid book Kakashi. Now get me out of here." Her legs kicked, trying to unravel the sheet around them, and her arms and hands ached from having to lie atop them.

Kakashi's intense look then took on a more inquisitive spark. "Just who sleeps in the nude anymore anyway? Don't you have the clothes necessary to cling to your back?" He asked, still towering over her.

The dark-haired woman leaned back further into the bed and pillows, sighing. This position could only worsen her back. "What's it your business? Not planning on paying me anymore late night visits huh?" She asked with a humorless smile. Then scowled as he raised an eyebrow. "It was hot tonight, what'd you think I'd do? Let myself burn to ashes?" Then began her defense. "And I'm not completely naked! You only saw my upper half anyway..." And trailed off, realizing where this line of questioning was going.

There were a few more long minutes of silence where Kakashi and Anko held their gazes, one glaring and the other just staring.

He finally pulled back a little with a sigh. "You don't have it." He stated, causing her eyes to bulge out.

"And what, my obvious answer to your question wasn't enough?" She asked blankly, with a scalding look. "Now that we've cleared this up, you're going to untie me." Anko stated irritably with a dangerous hint. When he made no move other than turning his head to examine the room disinterestedly she tried again. "Maybe I can even... help you... look for this book or whatever." She grumbled out. "If you get me out of this in the next minute or so." She added.

Kakashi turned back to look at her with a grin she could make out through the fabric of his mask. "You mean like this?" He asked, moving a hand and placing it on an area of exposed leg, below her knee. He steadily moved it up, shifting the sheet aside as he went.

Anko resisted the urge to close her eyes momentarily at the feel of someone caressing her skin. She did however manage to blush accordingly. Because it was a fellow ninja who was doing this to her, and a common co-worker. It would only make her already chaotic life, well, more chaotic.

But it _had_ been a while, she thought, leaning back into the pillows and relaxing.

His hand was still slowly creeping up past her knee.

But Kakashi, of all people? Even if they were tempting each other...

It traveled on her thigh, seemingly at an even slower pace, feeling light and as though it barely touched her at all.

She stared up at the ceiling in a daze. And then smirked.

He was surprised to look down at the hand currently grabbing onto his own, preventing further movement. Then looked up into Anko's triumphant face and undefeated eyes.

Anko wasted no time in swiping her other arm around his neck and pulling him down to her level, staring a few inches from her face, apparently tired and breathing a little ragged from the earlier show.

"Next time you come around," She started, sounding slightly aggressive. "It better not be for some dumb book or to joke with me. And hey, leave your mask at the door." She said between breaths.

Although having been shocked, he nodded once before disappearing in a cloud of smoke, having used the substitution jutsu, replacing himself with a stray pillow.

**xoxo**

In the meanwhile, Neji was currently stretched out on his bed, trying to massage his head as Tenten still occupied the bathroom. It had only been half an hour, and he had no real desire to rush her. It'd be rude, and she'd get suspicious of something.

And this is the moment when he heard a small knock on his bedroom door, which he hadn't bothered to lock at all. He mumbled some acknowledgement after glancing at the door and didn't bother to move as someone opened it and came in.

"Hi Neji." She said with a smile, closing the door quietly behind her.

Neji opened an eye to spot his cousin coming in. "Hey, what's up?" He asked casually.

It really wasn't unusual for Hinata and Neji to speak to each other like this. Over the years that had gone by they had not only grown up, but grown closer like the family they undoubtedly are. After getting over his needless disgust and hatred towards his cousin, and she had gotten over her shy, meek and fearful demeanor. They were almost as close as brother and sister. Which is why Hinata was there in the first place.

"You look tired." She commented, coming over to sit down next to him on the bed. Then heard the sounds coming from behind door number two. Hinata raised an eyebrow. "Is there someone in your bath?" She questioned with an inquiring gaze.

Neji didn't bother to open his eyes, but that didn't stop his cheeks from turning pink. "Ah... Tenten needed to place to stay for a few days. So I offered her my room..." His voice trailed off quietly, knowing already what she thought of the situation.

"It's about time." The dark-haired girl huffed jokingly. Neji shot up into a sitting position. Hinata giggled. "Maybe it's just an excuse to spend time with you." She said again.

Neji moved to lean back against the bed frame, crossing his arms over his chest. "Ha-ha. Is that why you came? Everyone already told you how they did this to me on purpose?" He probed with a scowl.

Hinata laughed again. "Actually I didn't hear anything about it. I just got home and headed straight here." Then she paused and looked down at her legs stretched out. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

At this his earlier countenance dissipated. "What about?" He asked, looking up at her.

She began to fidget with the end of her skirt. "About..." And shifted her eyes around the room and bed. "My... engagement, to Naruto." She said slowly.

His scowl was back. He only grumbled but didn't say anything else.

She turned her eyes on him with a pleading look. "I want to know... I need to know that you have no qualms about this. And I don't want you to lie to make me feel better or get it over with." Hinata said with a small glare. "I can't... can't do this if I know you don't approve. I wouldn't feel right if anyone I cared about felt that way about something like this. Something very significant and important to me."

Neji loosened his arms and turned to stare at the ceiling a moment. "You're too young to get married Hinata." He tried softly.

She opened her mouth to argue. But he continued on, stopping her indignant reply.

"It's not just that." He sighed, looking back down at her. "I don't want you to rush into something like this. You're like my little sister now, and I have to protect you from things like this." Neji said, his voice still gentle.

Hinata turned away and stared straight ahead. "You're afraid I'll get hurt." She stated.

He smiled. "I know, I know. You're going to say, it's Naruto, and he'd never do anything to hurt you intentionally. He cares about you deeply and blah blah blah." He joked.

She managed a small smile, hitting him lightly in the shoulder.

"But I still gotta look out for you, right?" Neji said with a shrug, then paused to examine her. "What else have you been worrying over anyway?"

Hinata glanced at him briefly before concentrating on the bed. "Nothing. Just your blown out of proportion reaction to our engagement." She said, looking back at him with a smile.

He still remained suspicious. "Uh-huh." Then another sigh. "It's not that I don't approve..."

She gave him a pointed look.

"Okay, well maybe a little. But it's not that I don't feel Naruto will treat you badly. We've all seen the way he looks at you."

"So you must've known it was coming then, right?"

"Well... yeah. But I'm never gonna stop worrying about you. Or wanting to protect you." Neji playfully put a hand on top of her head. "You should be so lucky to have people care about you so much." She smiled up at him and he did the same. "I'm happy for you Hinata. Don't think I'm not. Maybe I get a little worked up over some things for no reason." He shrugged, moving his hand to lay his arm on her shoulders.

"Yeah you do." She said jokingly again. "Like with Tenten-chan."

He turned his face away. There was a moment of silence as they sat like that. Neji held her securely, arm around her shoulders as she wiggled her toes and bobbed her feet side to side and he looked off to get rid of stray thoughts in his head.

"So," She sighed and looked back up at him. "Do you think this is right? The timing? I know you said we're too young but do you think that will be our downfall in the end? Getting married too soon?" Hinata questioned.

Neji turned to look at her blankly a moment. He moved forward to give her a light kiss on the forehead, which she received, still with her questioning gaze. As he pulled back he mumbled, "Nah, you two deserve each other. I think you've waited long enough." He grinned at her.

Neither noticed as a figure peeking through a slightly open doorway grinned to herself and moved back, pushing the door closed as well.

Hinata turned away with a bright blush, remembering something. "Uh... yeah. You're right I guess."

His look turned odd. "What? Are you having second thoughts already?"

She shook her head animatedly. "No! It's just..." Her face was still heated and she looked around quickly before settling her gaze back to her cousin. "Neji, have you... uh..." Her voice came out in a low whisper. "Had sex?" She questioned.

Neji yelped in surprise and jerked back so far that he fell off the bed, leaving Hinata to stare down at his form.

"I guess not." She said, letting out a breath.

"Hinata, w-what have you-" He was cut off.

"Nothing! I haven't done anything! That's why I was asking you... but you're no help." Hinata glanced away, hiding a small smile.

"This isn't funny!" He argued, grabbing onto the bed and lifting himself up.

She turned to look at him slyly. "Maybe, but I bet you and Tenten sharing a bed will be."

He turned red at the insinuation, wondering when Hinata became so devious and crafty in that way. "Nothing's going to happen between us." He stated calmly.

Hinata jumped off the bed on the other side. "Okay nii-chan, but I'll just have to ask her tomorrow to make sure." She said over her shoulder, heading towards the door.

Neji's face was so red he could hardly contain himself. "I said, nothing will happen!" He shouted as she shut the door behind her.

After a moment he sighed and moved around the room, trying to clean up by throwing things into drawers and even clear a space for Tenten's things.

And not a moment too soon, as she suddenly appeared standing in the doorway, hair out of her usual buns, dripping wet and wearing her sleepwear, consisting of a t-shirt and pair of shorts.

"Hi Neji." She said happily, walking out with her bag in one hand and toweling her hair lightly with the other.

He looked up to stare. Without her normal clothes and hairstyle she looked quite different. Very girl next door-ish.

Tenten strolled over to the dresser and mirror, dropping her bag back into the same corner as before. "Sorry I took so long." She gave him a sheepish look.

Neji looked away unthinkingly. "No problem. You are a guest and all. Don't worry about it." He looked back to what he had been doing. "If you need space for your stuff you can use any of the drawers or the closet." He said.

Tenten smiled at him. "That's so sweet of you! Thanks Neji!" She looked in the mirror as she dried her hair with the towel. "I heard you talking to Hinata." She said, still smiling.

He panicked, not looking up at her. "How much did you hear?"

She paused in her task. "Well, I felt bad for eavesdropping; it had really been an accident. I only heard a few lines really... but the way you spoke to her..." She turned her eyes on him, shining with kindness and sincerity. "It was so nice. The way you two are."

Neji finally looked up to see her face become disappointed.

"I wish I had someone like that. Someone to protect me too." Then shook her head at the silly notion she'd created. After all, she was a kunoichi. "Nevermind."

"Tenten, do you mind..." He trailed off, still staring at her. And when she turned to see, he was suddenly standing right next to her. He placed a hand on the dresser, almost trying to block her in. "If I ask how come you needed a place to stay so badly?" He questioned, staring her down, then placing the other hand down so she was trapped.

Her eyes shifted around quickly. "Uh... why're you making this such a big deal Neji? If you didn't want me to stay over you could've just said so." She said, changing the subject.

He leaned in closer, making her back into the piece of furniture loudly. "You know that's not why I ask." He replied. "Just why won't you give me a straight answer?" His voice came out deep, soaked in concern.

"Neji, it's no-" She paused, he breath catching at his intense, probing gaze. "It's n-nothing." She continued. "That I can't handle. Just trust me, okay? I'll tell you or someone if I really need help with anything." Tenten ended, with a shaky voice and weak smile.

He moved back and nodded, immediately heading for the shower. He really couldn't believe how stubborn she was. He almost had her. "You should wear your hair down more often." He said, not turning back to look at her.

Tenten only sighed, then upon hearing his voice remembered something. "Oh wait! I left something in there!" She blushed, rushing past him as he stopped in his tracks. She quickly snatched up her clothes from the bathroom floor, looking around for the lingerie she desperately didn't want him to see.

As she searched the bathroom for whatever, Neji shrugged to himself, walking over to a drawer to grab a few of his own clothes. It really wouldn't be a good idea to walk out of the bathroom in a towel for her to see.

When he turned back around, clothes in hand he noticed something lying on the floor just short of Tenten's bag. It was obviously hers and was lying face down, had to be a piece of paper.

He cautiously walked over to pick it up and turned it over. And quickly felt the color and heat rise to his cheeks and... ahem, another part of his body.

It was a picture of Tenten. While she was in the shower. Naked, yes. Water dripping and sliding down her body. Although the picture was from a side angle and only showed above her waist, not to mention her arm and fairly long hair blocked the view of her breasts. Still, it was enough to give rise to his wild imagination.

A clamber was heard coming from the bathroom and Neji quickly stuffed the picture back into the bag, stood up and walked away.

Tenten swiftly walked out of the bathroom not a moment too soon because right now he really needed a cold shower. He avoided looking at her or brushing past her as he made for the bathroom, kicking the door closed behind him.

Why in the world would Tenten be walking around with a nude picture of herself? What the hell was going on? Obviously someone _else_ had to have taken the picture, but who? Who would she ever allow to see her like that? In the picture she didn't even seem to notice or care about the camera, yet it was close enough so how could she have not known it was there?

He tried to concentrate on the mystery of it all and not the physical aspect. Otherwise he would just end up making Tenten uncomfortable as well.

Damnit. Damnit, damnit, damnit.

On the other side of the door Tenten was trying to calm her nerves. She unconsciously went over to lock the bedroom door and windows.

'Maybe I should just... tell him.' She thought, settling into the bed. 'Oh! This is so sick!' She finally said to herself. 'Why me?'

She laid down, suddenly playing with the ends of her hair, examining them carefully. She 'hmm'ed to herself, remembering his words. "My hair?" She asked herself out loud.

In about thirty minutes Neji came out of the bathroom with the intent of questioning his friend on the photo he'd accidentally seen. But upon approaching the bed he saw her lying peacefully asleep, her hair still spread out.

_On his side of the bed._

Neji gaped in shock at the predicament.

**xoxo**

"Funny seeing you here." He commented with a grin, taking a seat.

Sasuke grunted. "Don't say that. It sounds like something else." He said.

Naruto just grinned at his friend, ordering himself a bowl of ramen, as usual. "How come you're here? And earlier than I am too."

The dark-haired boy just shrugged his shoulders, resting his arms on the counter top and looking around as if he'd never been at the ramen stand before, which was no where near true.

After greeting the owner and placing his order, the blonde turned serious and looked down at his arms and hands, also resting on the counter. "Yeah, I know what you mean. I wanted to continue our chat as soon as possible too." Then he turned to look at Sasuke with a grin. "Just so I could knock some more sense into your head that is."

In return the Uchiha smirked. "I don't doubt that I need it." He admitted, glancing away and staring ahead blankly.

Naruto still tried to make light of the situation. "Admitting is always the first step they say. But actually, I think it's having someone kick your butt so you realize it."

There was a lull in the conversation where neither of them spoke and soon Naruto's ramen showed up. Like before, he paused, looking to his friend before he slowly started eating.

"How's Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked in between his meal.

Sasuke didn't look at him. He didn't answer either.

The blonde stopped, his chopsticks in midair, and stared at him. "What?" He asked incredulously, as if Sasuke _had_ answered, forgetting about the food completely.

"We don't really talk much." He grumbled out.

And caught off guard, Sasuke nearly choked when he felt a hand suddenly smack him on the top of his head. "Why not?" Naruto demanded after the attack.

He could only shrug, still not looking at Naruto. "She's usually busy, and I'm... not very talkative to begin with, right?" He grinned sardonically.

Naruto glared. "Don't treat her like that!" He scolded. "She's been the nicest to you out of everybody since you've returned! She offered you a place to stay! And while you're stupidly moping around she's making the meals and cleaning the house and taking care of you altogether! What do you have to say about that?"

Sasuke turned to stare at his friend, eyes widening at the realization. _She_ was the one supporting _him._ And although he never thought that would happen and in most cases guys would be offended and insulted by this... Sasuke could only feel ashamed at himself.

He hung his head, staring at the floor and thinking. Hadn't he always been so independent before? Such a loner? And now he was leaning so heavily on one person... and not just anybody, but _Sakura._ Sakura, who had been there from the beginning. Sakura, who was probably feeling so...

"Burdened." He finished out loud. He looked to see Naruto regarding him with worry. "Is that what you mean then? I'm burdening her with my pathetic attitude and behavior?"

Naruto sighed and turned back to his bowl. "Don't be so dumb." He rolled his eyes. "And I thought I was thick. Don't you see how much Sakura-chan cares about you? It's not a burden to her... well maybe in some way it is starting to be." Sasuke listened carefully. "Whether she wants to admit it or not, she does care about you. And I don't mean in the silly fan-girl way. She's grown up." He commented.

"Like you?" The Uchiha shot back with narrowed eyes.

The blonde was confused for a moment and turned to his friend to show it, but then it kicked in. "You mean me and Hinata?" When there was no reply he assumed it was so. "What's wrong with it?" He asked defensively.

Sasuke sighed, turning back to place his arms on the counter again and stare at them. "Nothing. It's just a little hard to believe, to see." He said, eyes flickering to the side.

A smile crossed his face. "But it's gonna happen." He said surely.

"You're getting married." Sasuke said to himself, stating the obvious. They both looked up to meet each other's gaze. "You and Hyuuga Hinata are getting married." He said again.

Naruto's smile was so wide it threatened to split his face in half. "Yeah, we are." He said to himself.

"Why?" Was his frank question.

For a second he was about to frown but didn't bother letting it get him down. "Because..." He started off, his voice low and dreamy. "We're in love. And we want to be together for the rest of our lives. And we want to show everyone around us that this is the path we've chosen."

Sasuke's stare was curious. "In love?" He glanced away. "What's that like then?"

Naruto patted his friend on the back. "I dunno." When he received a look he tried again. "It's just... not something you can describe so easily."

"So how do you know?" Dark eyes stared down at pale hands.

The blonde let his brows furrow together in thought. "Well... at first you don't." A pause as this sunk in, for both of them. "And then suddenly you see it and you realize it. And then you know."

"So then..." He abruptly stopped himself from further words on the topic.

Naruto took this as a sign and nudged him with an elbow. "What's up? Had your eye on any specific person lately?" He grinned.

"No." Was the grumble and coughed out answer.

The usually hyper ninja sighed and pushed the now cold bowl away so he could settle his arms on the counter. "Maybe we should get back to the topic at hand. You, not appreciating Sakura-chan."

Sasuke 'hmm'ed.

"Do something." He stated. "Say something."

Nothing.

"You should talk to her." Naruto said with a smile.

"Talking isn't my strong point." He pointed out.

"What're you _talking_ about? If I can get a conversation out of you, then you must be able to talk with the person you're _living with._" Naruto glared mockingly. "Don't be so chicken Sasuke!"

At this, ears perked up. "I'm not a chicken. Don't compare me to an animal like that." Sasuke grumbled.

"Just do something. Otherwise it won't be long before she gets fed up and kicks you out."

His dark eyes turned to the other in question.

Naruto burst out laughing. "I'm kidding! There's no way Sakura would do that to you, or anybody." After a few more chuckles he added, "And like I said, she cares about you."

Sasuke stared down at his hands silently.

The other stared at him a bit. "And you know, I'm pretty sure you care about her too." His voice low so it was barely heard.

His head jerked up. "What?" The Uchiha eyed his friend in suspicion.

He only got a shrug. "Why else would you have stayed with her for so long? And worry about her. You pretended not to care about a lot of things when we were younger. But we all knew it wasn't true. You haven't changed much."

"That's the problem." Was muttered.

The two sat in companionable silence for a few minutes. Neither looked at or acknowledged each other and Naruto paid for his unfinished meal, even apologizing for it.

"I think I'll head home." Sasuke stated, standing up and causing Naruto to do the same.

They walked out into the empty street and stared around at the very dark scene. It was probably past ten.

"Congratulations on your engagement Naruto." He said, catching the other's eye. Naruto smiled brightly. "Tell Hinata I said so too." Sasuke moved to begin walking away but stalled. "Thanks." He said lightly and smiled a little before leaving.

Naruto shook his head and shoved his hands in his pockets, still smiling.

**xoxo**

'My appreciation?' He questioned, walking home. Right, home. Even though it was just another thing that was hard to admit. It was the place he lived and the only place he belonged. Sasuke spared himself any more thoughts on his walk.

He spotted the familiar house, and pulled out the single key from his pocket. He slowly opened the door and noted that the lights were all off.

'She must be asleep.' He thought to himself. The lights had been on when he left earlier.

Closing the door in the same manner he peered around at the empty living room and kitchen with the light coming from outside. The curtains were still slightly open.

As usual he kicked off his shoes and proceeded to stalk around the place, examining it as if he were new to the place. He stood by a window and looked through the parted curtains at the dark, empty street.

'Show her... I appreciate her? I care? What?' He thought, confused.

The Uchiha finally gave up on thinking this over and headed for the bedroom, quickly changing out of his clothes and into a pair of casual shorts and t-shirt.

'Something she picked out and bought for me.' He thought, pulling the shirt over his head.

The bedroom was pretty dark, but he did know his way around pretty well. He stared from his place by the closet at the figure on the bed, her frame moving up and down as she breathed evenly.

He walked over quietly, afraid to wake her up for once. And now that he thought about it, maybe with his careless way upon entering in previous cases he had actually roused her. But she never said anything about it.

He crawled onto his side of the bed and lay there for a moment, staring at the ceiling. Out of the corner of his eye he could see her back, facing him.

Is that what he would get if he didn't act soon? Would she really turn her back on him? And what was wrong with expressing his emotions to her anyway? They lived together; they've known each other for such a long time. And they both... cared about each other, right? Right?

Sasuke couldn't help himself from turning to face her back and let his gaze rest on her slightly curled up form.

A feeling rose up in his throat; he gulped, letting his hand drift away to hover near her before finally resting gently on her shoulder.

She wore a t-shirt, like he did, only smaller. But unlike him, and he could inwardly smirk at the fact that only he knew this, she didn't wear pants to sleep. No, just a pair of panties. And usually she was too tired after coming home and headed straight for a shower, afterwards completely forgetting to put on a pair of pants and would stroll around the house for a bit before hitting the sack.

His smirk slowly disappeared as he stared at her longer, not moving his hand at all.

Just how would he...? What do you do? Sure she may have been asleep and he wouldn't get any point across by trying to flatter an unconscious person, but it was a start at something.

So he lifted himself up a little and moved closer, using the hand that rested on her shoulder to wrap his arm around her torso and letting their legs tangle together unintentionally. He tried to be subtle, not wanting to wake her. And when he was in place he rested his head on the pillow again, this time closing his eyes. He didn't have to stare at her across the space between them because they were already touching.

He moved his head forward to let his forehead rest against her hair.

With all the quiet it was easy to hear as Sakura suddenly made a sound he couldn't identify as being content or not.

Sasuke sighed to himself as he hugged her from behind. Was this it?

**xoxo**

**Okay, that **took much longer than the last chapter, which is understandable I suppose because this one came out much longer. By at least 3,000 words. I know, I keep track of this too much. Can't help it. Makes me proud.

Anyway I have no real comments on this chapter and still, it will not be posted until I finish the rest, which by the looks of it, might be at least one or two more chapters. I should've known I wouldn't get anything done on Thanksgiving Day, but I only realized when I woke up at two in the afternoon (and I still can't remember why either).

And actually it wouldn't matter if I wanted to upload anything at this moment because the site is being a #$%.

Hope you liked!

11-27-06

6:51pm

**Right, I almost forgot about this, what with school things and appointments and other forms of stress. I think I meant to update this like a week ago but stuff got in the way. Well here you go, and yes I did warn you: this is a very long chapter.**

**Okay, I think I'm off to skip down a field full of daisies or something. Ciao.**

**10-4-07**

**9:46pm**


	3. Chapter 3

11-29-06

2:24pm

one-shot turned too long fic, couples- Shikamaru/Ino, Neji/Tenten, some Naruto/Hinata and Sakura/Sasuke and a smash of Kakashi/Anko

Summary- Tenten is being blackmailed and finally takes the chance to ask for Neji's help in the matter, as Kakashi's current volume of Icha Icha Paradise has gone missing and he's come to the conclusion it's been stolen. And Naruto and Hinata have just announced their engagement while Sakura and Sasuke are trying to help each other muddle through life, all the while there's a plot to push Ino and Shikamaru closer together. Life could only be less clear...

**Disclaimer- I do not own Naruto or any of the characters.**

**xoxo**

**Title-Hidden Leaves**

**Chapter 3**

**By-Moon Prynces**

**xoxo**

She woke up with the strangest feeling, which is not to say she didn't always wake up feeling at least a little off. But today something was different.

It started when she realized there was a weight on her body, something preventing her from moving. Her feet were stuck and her torso felt like lead, and apparently although nothing was blocking or holding them down, her arms decided to join in on the fun with the rest of her body.

Sakura blearily looked around the room without moving her head. She vaguely noticed that she was late for work. At least three hours. What in the world made her sleep in like that?

But then it felt so nice, warm and comfy. The blanket covering her wasn't too thick, seeing as it wasn't winter, but not too thin for the evening breezes. And something else...

She tried to think straight and realize what else there was... something was going on. But the atmosphere was so nice she didn't bother worrying and closed her eyes again, shifting and turning over onto her other side and was about to fall asleep again.

When she was met with some resistance as she moved around. There wasn't enough space. Which was strange because the bed was pretty big enough.

Sakura blinked a few times and tried to clear the fluffiness from her head and stared. And stared. And stared.

Where the hell was she...?

She looked up into the face of the last person she wanted to see at the moment. The person who, as she soon realized, was holding tightly onto her as if... as if they were a couple or something!

A muffled shriek soon echoed through the air and she bolted upright in the bed, despite the weight of Sasuke's arm and legs holding her down. What was he doing?

This caused the other participant in the debacle to wake up, propping himself up on an arm and look around sleepily.

"What's wrong?" He asked with a half frown. Half because he was still too tired and confused to understand the situation.

Sakura turned to stare at him, her hands planted on the bed behind her to hold herself up as she stared at him in a daze. Her pink hair was in a mess and her shirt was wrinkled in all the wrong places. And unfortunately, Sasuke did take notice.

For her part though, Sakura had no idea what was going on. What alternate universe did she wake up in? Why was Sasuke on her side of the bed? As a matter of fact, why was he _touching_ her at all? And did he just _speak_ to her? Wasn't there some unwritten, _unspoken_ rule they had about these things?

Her stare turned blank and she just sat there looking at him. Sasuke didn't say anything for a while and his frown eased away so he stared right back, propped up on an elbow, right next to her.

She didn't bother saying anything or answering him as she got out of bed, taking another look at the clock and letting it sink it.

"Shit." She muttered. "I'm late." And suddenly felt very self-conscious as she made her way to the bathroom clad only in her usual sleeping attire, a t-shirt and her underwear.

It never felt like that before, she thought after closing the bathroom door behind her. What _was_ he doing?

Sasuke on the other hand, had no ill or perverted intentions toward his... roommate. When she didn't speak to him and turned away to leave he laid back down on the bed and stared at the ceiling, wondering what he'd done wrong.

Actually in fact, he hadn't done anything. Nothing much at least. Was it really so hard for anyone to believe he would sound worried? No, the real question was, was it really so hard for Sakura to believe... in him?

Were they really so out of touch with each other now that she couldn't believe he'd acknowledge her ever again? It sure seemed like it. She seemed shocked and taken-aback by his advances. Given, they were only baby steps.

But soon he'd have to start making leaps. The space between them had gotten too far for him to repair with small actions and short words. He needed to try harder. He needed to prove himself.

He tried to think of what to do now. How would he rectify the situation? Talking was always an option. If his mouth would ever listen to his brain, or even his heart. But right now, maybe that wasn't best.

It wasn't long before she came out of the bathroom and was back in the bedroom, walking about in a towel as if nothing at all had happened.

Sakura had convinced herself it was nothing. Everything was nothing. And he didn't matter to her anymore. They were only roommates for God's sake! And Sasuke would never turn into the type of person who would expect something more from her, to take advantage of her in any way.

But she didn't have many excuses for what had happened. Maybe he had rolled over onto her side, yeah, and maybe she had been drinking the night before and that would explain her sleeping in. Pfft. All the reasons were less reasonable than the last.

It was official. She'd lost her mind.

Sasuke watched her out of the corner of his eye, not moving an inch except to breathe. She walked over to a drawer and pulled out a pair of underwear and bra, neither of the two were uncomfortable about this in the least.

She opened the closet door at an angle and stood behind it, thinking he wouldn't be able to see her change and being too lazy to go back to the bathroom. Only he could see her. But he turned his head away to give her privacy, not once being tempted to look.

When the closet door closed she was fully dressed in a pair of knee length tights with a light blue dress on top, stopping mid-thigh. Her shoes were flat, making it easy to walk around in; especially compared to the open-toe sandals they used to wear.

He turned his head over to openly stare at her this time, not trying to be discreet. She stared in the mirror, brushing out her hair silently.

He sighed to himself and got up, heading to the bathroom to straighten up. Sakura noticed without letting her eyes flicker away from the task at hand. She hoped to leave before he got out to avoid anymore... awkward situations.

Either way, she resolved to completely disregard it and let life go on as normal. It was too tiring to gripe over these things nowadays. She'd already wasted hours the few days before on Sasuke already. He was a big boy; he could take care of himself. And on that note... maybe it was time they separated from each other completely.

Sakura put down the brush and nodded unconsciously to herself in the mirror. She turned to walk out of the room and grabbed her keys and bag full of other things on her way out.

She didn't hear the bathroom door open or notice the person standing in the doorway, watching her. And she didn't notice anything in her rush to get out of the house until a hand suddenly rested on her shoulder.

Sasuke had decided to take things a little slow, in his own way this time. When she looked back with wide eyes, hand still stretching to pick up her wallet, he nodded. "I'll see you when you get back." She didn't answer him. "Right?"

The pink-haired girl slowly turned back and grabbed the item and stuffed it in the bag she was holding. "Sure." She replied, causing him to remove his hand and let her continue what she had been doing before walking out the door.

She caught his eye just as she was closing the door and gave a small wave, with a peculiar look on her face.

He stared until the door closed, sighing as soon as she left.

**xoxo**

On the other side of the village, also sharing a bed was another... unfortunate couple... of people. Tenten stared at his face for a long time, having woken up before him. And he didn't seem to mind sleeping in as far as all his lectures on tardiness went.

Tenten examined his relaxed face, trying to come to a decision in her head. Although her neck sort of ached from staying in this position for so long she had to think.

But what would he say to that kind of thing? Wouldn't he be completely disgusted with her for letting something like this happen? With all her great skills as a kunoichi and brilliant mind this was the one thing she couldn't take care of on her own?

But maybe he had a great idea to get rid of this problem. Something that she would never have thought of, being in her frenzied state as she was. It'd be great to be able to sleep in her own bed again, without having to worry about any creep skulking around her house.

That was it! There are just some things you have to do. And then there are the things you just can't.

She slowly sat up in the bed, trying not to move around too much or make any sound. Then proceeded to slip out of bed, noticing that they both had been under the same blanket the entire night.

And then she defeated the whole purpose of being quiet when her foot got tangled in the blanket and caused her to trip onto the floor. Loudly. Enough so that Neji woke with a start.

He looked around quickly, taking in the situation. Until his eyes landed on his sheepish friend in a pile on the floor, a few feet from the bed. He raised an eyebrow. "What're you doing?"

"Sorry! I didn't mean to wake you up!" She said, looking away and getting to her feet, ignoring her aching body. "Just... go back to bed! I'll take a shower while you get some more rest."

Neji froze at the words and an image appeared in his head. A very bad one. His face darkened. "Uh... actually, I wanted to talk to you." He said in a low voice, still sitting on the bed.

Tenten looked at him, unconsciously raking her hand through her tangled hair. "Oh... okay." Inwardly she cursed, 'Damnit.' "What's up?" She asked, trying to play a good friend and moving to sit on the edge of the bed.

He opened his mouth to say something. And found he couldn't. She looked too innocent, in his opinion, to be capable of... anything involving naked pictures. But it couldn't have been his imagination damnit! That stupid picture was burned into his head! He shook his head.

She stared around the room for a bit while Neji was apparently gathering his thoughts. That's when her eyes landed on... the bag. They almost popped out of their sockets. She turned back to him, and saw he was looking in the same direction too. "Neji, I actually..." She trailed off when he looked at her, and she swore the look on his face just wasn't pleasant, or comfortable. "Really need to take a shower!" She jumped up.

It only took a few seconds for her to grab the bag and dash into the bathroom, swiftly pushing the door closed behind her. But in the escape she didn't do it properly.

Neji blinked, realizing he'd lost his chance. He immediately got mad that he let himself get distracted. It wasn't like he'd never seen a naked woman before!

...Well okay, maybe it was kinda true.

He cursed and also jumped up from the bed, heading to the door intently. He could easily see the crack in the doorway, meaning she hadn't paid any attention to what she had been doing when she went in a few seconds ago.

The Hyuuga brashly, without warning or thinking about it, pushed open the door. And luckily Tenten hadn't even begun undressing; she had only been standing over the counter with her hands gripping onto it. She looked up and gasped in surprise.

"Tenten, I need to talk to you." He started with a scowl on his face as he stalked over, making the gap between the two very, very small.

It was very similar to the scene last night. Except this time Neji had resolved to get an answer out of her, for her own sake. Nothing would stop him. Not even that dumb picture hidden in her bag that could possibly give him a nosebleed. The bag, which incidentally, he just happened to spot lying at their feet. An edge of the photo stuck out noticeably.

Tenten stared at him, scared that she would suddenly blurt out the whole situation in the most incoherent and horribly embarrassing way. She started turning pink herself as words starting coming to mind, trying to find the most tactful way to say it.

Neji did think about dropping down and grabbing the picture out of the bag and then demanding what it was... but decided that would be too drastic. She might beat the crap out of him just for knowing about its existence.

"Look, I know something's been going on. And I'm getting tired of hearing that you can take care of it. Does this look like taking care of it?!" He shouted, throwing his arms up to show where they were. "You are at my house, you do realize. And you've never cared about coming over here. You probably didn't care if I live in a dumpster! And now something's happened and all of a sudden you need a place to stay? And there isn't even a logical reason for that either!" He went on, and Tenten tuned out and let her eyes roam around the room as she tried to piece the right words together like a puzzle. "The last I saw the only problem with your place is it's a huge mess! What's going on? I'm not letting you leave until you tell me-"

Tenten reached up and flicked his forehead. "Shut up." She said, then turned away and began biting her lip. "I'll tell you! You don't have to throw a fit you idiot." She folded her arms and scowled, walking a few steps to her right, trying to clear space for the explosion.

Neji put a hand on the counter to lean on it. "Well we don't have all day."

"Uh..." She turned back to stare at him blankly. "Okay, you see..." Then paused to look up with an embarrassed expression, trying desperately to keep it down.

He also found himself turning slightly red, and he realized it must have had something to do with that picture. But maybe his mind was just jumping to conclusions and he really was turning into a pervert.

"Neji, I think you should sit down." She said, coming to put a hand on his shoulder in an 'I've got really bad news' kind of way. She backed him up to sit on the closed toilet seat then took a few steps back. "Okay, it started a few days ago." Tenten said, looking up as she recalled the event in her head. "I got an envelope with no name or address or anything at all on it. It was just in my mailbox and it was pretty full of something."

Neji nodded, listening closely.

"And, I found inside... at least four dozen pictures in it." She said, looking back at him in the eye.

He suddenly colored at that, trying to hold her gaze.

"They were pictures of me." Tenten said, her voice sounding normal as if it were a regular story she told. "Pictures of me walking around the village. Getting the groceries or talking to people around and what not." She stopped to think something over. "Since no one had signed it or anything I figured it might be some kind of secret admirer or something and they were too shy to say or write anything. I thought maybe the pictures had some kind of symbolic meaning he, or she," She gave Neji a pointed look as he grinned to himself. "Wanted to get across. But I'm no good at that stuff so I scrapped the idea and left 'em at home."

Neji's grin faded when he noticed her aggravated look.

"And then the next day the same thing happened. But I really have no idea; they could've left the envelope there at night or some time while I was at work. I did try watching out for anything suspicious after the second batch but I never saw or heard or felt anyone near my home." She shook her head and went on. "Yeah, so the next day there were more pictures. They weren't random at all. They were all pictures of me from the day before. With me filling out stupid paperwork and reports for the Godaime. Or talking to you, or Sakura or whoever. Pictures of my entire day until the time I got home!" Tenten herself looked stunned just saying this out loud.

It really was hard work, but Neji managed to restrain himself from speaking. He didn't want to interrupt, have her burst into tears and then never hear the end of her story. Although it was creepy and stalker-ish, he was getting a little confused, having completely forgotten about the picture in her bag.

Then he realized she had stopped talking altogether and was looking around the bathroom at the tiles and such, making herself interested in it with no real effort. If he didn't know her well enough he'd wonder what the hell she was doing and if she had ADD. But he was quick to understand she didn't want to continue with the story.

He raised an eyebrow. "Hm?" He went, trying not to scare her.

Tenten looked at him in the eyes. She blinked a few times. Then mumbled something he couldn't hear, glancing away and rubbing her arm.

"Huh?" Oh how wonderful, his vast vocabulary was being put to great use.

She cleared her throat exaggeratedly. "Um... the other day." She made a hand motion. "I was getting ready to meet you guys to train." And let her eyes trail along the floor tiles. "And I opened my door to leave. There was an envelope on the doorstep this time. And it had a picture... in it..." She let her voice mumble out the end.

Neji suddenly sat up straight, his voice stuck. Now he definitely remembered. "Tenten, I have something to... I have a confession."

She looked up, confused, brushing her still messy hair out of her face. About to open her mouth, but was abruptly cut off.

"I saw the picture." He said grimly, trying not to turn red.

Tenten let her mouth drop open in surprise. She tried to say something and only made a few sounds. "You... Ah... I-" She stopped a moment and then tried again. "If this were a chick flick I would have fainted by now." And then promptly started blushing like there was no tomorrow. She sat down on the tub frame and covered her face in her hands. "How?" Was what he heard, although muffled.

He shrugged, well aware she couldn't see it. "It just... fell out of your bag yesterday. Before when you went to get the rest of your things from the bathroom and I went to pick it up... and I..." He stopped short, realizing this was dangerous territory.

Tenten screeched and stood up again, pointing a finger at him. "Why did you- How could you- You shouldn't have seen it!" And in two seconds she was running out of the bathroom and shoving the things into her bag.

Neji smacked his head and ran out after her. "Where are you going? We still haven't resolved this whole thing. What about the person that's been-"

"I don't care! You saw- You saw- You saw!" She finally screamed, looking up at him angrily. "I need to get as far away from you as possible now! Don't be surprised when I never speak to you again." She stated hurriedly, grabbing her brush and other things from the dresser.

"Tenten! We can work this out! How is it possible you'll never make contact with me ever again?" He said logically, walking around the room after her.

"Don't be dumb! I can always just leave the village." She rolled her eyes as if it were obvious.

Until he grabbed her in a get-over-yourself kind of way. Which almost snapped her out of it. If she hadn't seen his eyes flicker below her face.

Tenten went angry again. "Stop looking at me!" She screamed, breaking out of his grasp, jumping on the bed and throwing the blanket on herself.

Neji sighed to himself. It was like dealing with a little kid. Then put on a stern face. "Tenten if you don't stop... doing that, then as your superior I'm going to ban you from any mission for at least two months." He said firmly.

She sat up abruptly and pulled the blanket off her head and gaped. "What? You can't do that! I... I..."

"If you keep getting so worked up and anxious you're bound to put yourself, others and the mission itself in jeopardy. There's no way you're in the fit mental and emotional condition to do anything but sit at home, avoiding me." He lifted a brow smartly and folded his arms. "If that's what you really want."

Tenten scowled, hating the difficult position she was being put in. She really didn't want to have to talk to him now. She knew it would be hard... but now knowing that he'd already seen the picture made it seem impossible. Unconsciously she held the blanket tightly in front of her body. It still felt like he could see through everything, right to the skin.

"Fine." She responded with a pout and nervous eyes. "What? You want me to continue? You know the rest now! The last picture that was sent to me... was of when I was in the shower, just two hours before." While waiting for Neji to answer she tried to calm herself down, tried to pretend Neji _couldn't_ see through every piece of fabric that was in front of her, tried to imagine that the picture _wasn't_ engraved in his mind.

"We need to find who's been doing this to you. Do you have any thoughts on who it could be, or why?" She didn't answer and he thought this was a sign of affirmation to continue. "I think it's some form of blackmail or something. Maybe it is a sick stalker type of person and they were trying to get something out of you."

"Or off of me." The brunette muttered, glancing off to the side. Neji burned up at the thought, his mind taking the perverted lead.

He looked over to the clock and sighed. "We're late. I'll tell Tsunade-sama that you and I aren't in any condition to take missions at the moment. We'll see what we can do about this later."

She stared at him blankly.

"What?"

Her eyes left his to roam around. "If you mention the two of us... at the same time... then wouldn't she-?"

"No!" Neji changed color again. "Why would she?-"

"Of course not! You're right!" Tenten said.

The two stayed quiet for a long few moments. He looked up.

"Maybe we should go-"

"Get ready? Yeah sure!"

**xoxo**

Shikamaru awoke to the sound of his mother yelling at him from the doorway. Only to realize it was all in his head, for the simple fact that he had moved out of his parents place a year ago. That was just sick.

He sat up and looked around the room. It wasn't too big. And neither was the rest of his place. It was small, cozy, and just enough for one person. A one-floor house just like something most of his friends had. He chose it because it was cheap and because it didn't matter how small it was since he wouldn't be home most of the time anyway.

He shoved his hand through his messy hair and headed to the bathroom, with the weird feeling of just having forgotten a dream when he woke up. It was disturbing and usually left him feeling odd all day, although he tried not to think about it.

After getting ready for his day Shikamaru remembered what had transpired between Ino and him the day before. And almost lost his footing on the way out the door.

He tried to maintain a fairly normal walk on his way around Konoha, forgetting where he was going, but obviously his feet knew it well enough. But on the other topic he was left a very confused guy when he left Ino's place last night.

Though, not meant to imply anything, the statement triggered the wrong impression in his mind.

'Stupid IQ.' He grumbled with a grouchy face, shoving hands in his pockets.

He had to admit though (only to himself of course) it did feel comfortable to have that... conversation with Ino the other night. Not too strange. Until they both realized what they were doing, which was when awkwardness kicked the two.

Him? And Ino? Flirting? Considering this before would have seemed laughable and most definitely impossible. But then what were they doing, talking about sex and stuff last night? Both tempting each other with insinuations and looks.

He might have thought it was a mistake or would like the pretend they were both joking too much... but he was just too curious. How would it feel to look at Ino as a prospect for something more? More than what they had at least.

It wasn't like he was looking for a relationship though, no way. Curiosity struck at him though. What if's and all that crap.

So he was going to find out. But first he needed to _find_ Ino.

**xoxo**

She stalked down the street in a strange mood. Her usual attire gone and now she strutted around the village in a pair of loose jeans and t-shirt, trying to attract as little attention as possible. Which was apparently having the opposite effect. It took all her will power to _not_ yell at someone today.

Anko was definitely in a mood. She had fallen asleep half an hour after the break-in. After taking a cold shower and taking some aspirin for the light ache on her wrists. Now she was back to being pissed off.

"Hello there. Beautiful day, isn't it?" And lo and behold, it was the last person she wanted to see at the moment.

She gritted her teeth. "If I didn't know any better I'd say you were _looking_ for me. How else would you have known I'd be in this part of the village after requesting a _day off_?" She said angrily.

Kakashi just waved a hand in dismissal. "Nice to know you're as sharp as ever." He sounded rather pleased with himself. "Now if you'll follow me, taking the day off won't be a complete waste for you after all." He turned around and looked over his shoulder.

Anko glared. "What are you talking about? What do you want now?" Although it was clear the ideas in her head were... not something to be viewed publicly.

"Well... if I remember correctly you promised to help me search for my book." He stated with his usual look.

Anko's anger faded. "What? When?"

"Do I really need to describe the _entire_ thing to you right here, right now?" He asked, the hint in his voice.

She smirked. "Oh? So you think you can blackmail me into helping you with this stupid mission of yours? Think again. As if half of Konoha doesn't already know I have a reputation-"

"For being with co-workers?" He asked, staring at her lazily.

The anger came back. She meant to kick him but he started walking when she had the chance. There was no choice but to follow. Even if it was unwilling and with her muttering curses and rambling to herself.

Kakashi seemed to have no conscience at all. And who knew where he was taking her. Finally he stopped and turned around to look at her with what she suspected to be a smile.

"Thought you might be hungry. My treat." He said, short and simple.

Anko stared at him after glancing to the stall behind him. "You brought me here... to get me food?" Too unfathomable for her to believe. There was definitely something up with this.

He only nodded and took a seat at the counter, prompting her to do the same, but not sparing him the strange look as she played along. But shrugged it off because hey, it was his wallet.

In half an hour she had ordered as much food as she could to fill up her stomach but not too much so she'd be able to run away from this maniac fast enough. Which was probably impossible, with a full stomach or not, given his reputation. After finishing, she wiped daintily at her mouth with a napkin and noticed out of the corner of her eyes, he was looked at her amusedly.

"What?" She questioned irritably with her nose in the air. "And if you are laughing at me like I suspect it's kind of hard to tell with the stupid mask on your face you know." She pointed out, not looking at him.

Kakashi's smile didn't fade. "Nothing." He shrugged to himself. "I guess your big appetite compliments your big mouth pretty well."

She was stunned beyond belief at the statement. Was he actually _trying_ to get on her nerves? Wasn't she the one supposedly _helping_ him?

"It's just a joke." He said again with the same easygoing manner, then shrugged. "What else should I do without my book?"

Her eye twitched. "Let's get this over with. I'll probably be able to find your stupid book in a few hours and then this deal will be over. Maybe if that stupid forehead protector wasn't always draping over your eye you'd actually find it yourself." She got up and left him to pay as she began walking down whatever path she chose.

He stayed a few steps behind and let her lead the way.

**xoxo**

'This is ridiculous.' She thought, letting the back of her hand hit her forehead. She sighed and opened her eyes again to continue pruning.

Ino had volunteered herself to help out at the flower shop on this absolutely lovely day she had off from any missions. Although really she should have been filling out the report waiting at home.

She was trying to find something to occupy her mind. So she wouldn't be thinking about last night. Freaked her out? Definitely. Her and Shikamaru flirting? Discussing... R-rated things? Very strange. Yes, they were good friends and yes they did talk about almost everything under the sun. Key word being 'almost'.

They never actually brought up their love lives to have each other examine, maybe just in passing. And they never brought up these things so flamboyantly and... with intent... or something.

She shivered at the thought. Her? And Shikamaru? Never. Not in a million years. Not even in the afterlife or rebirth or whatever came after death.

Ino paused in her task and let her elbow rest on the table, face on top of her hand. Well, the hand that wasn't holding the flowers, but grasping the pruning shears.

But it had been a while right? And everyone needed their required _fix_, right? Right?

"Argh." She groaned, throwing the shears on the table and placing the flowers in a vase. The hormones and lack of sex really must be getting to her.

Damnit! And why did Shikamaru have to be the one to bring all this up anyway?

The day passed on as usual, customers coming in and out, needing help, asking questions and blah-blah. It kept her busy though, so she was thankful for the job her mother had given her. Something more time-consuming than picking up groceries but not the hassle of cooking anything.

The blonde looked up upon hearing the bell tinkle when the door was opened. "Hi, welcome to-" She stopped short and stared a few seconds before regaining her wits. "Hey Shika!" She tried to be excited. After all, it was one of her best friends. No need to ruin a great friendship.

"Hey. Hope I'm not interrupting anything." He replied sheepishly, walking over and looking up and down the counter.

She hopped up from the stool she was sitting on. "Oh no! Just arranging some flowers and all. Nothing too big." Ino felt stupid and thought they looked like two thirteen-year old kids. How pathetic. "Nice of you to stop by, how'd you find me?" She turned away to pick up a few lilies.

Shikamaru scratched his chin unsurely. He'd never admit to actually have been running around trying to track her down. That would be dumb. And he had no real reason other than wanting to figure out a problem in his head, one that could never be explained out loud.

"Just bored, no missions or paperwork or anything to fill out today." He leaned casually against the counter. "How's your day been?"

She shook her head, staring in concentration at the group of flowers before turning to another. "Busy." She responded shortly.

He stared at her, not in the least disappointed with her answer or demeanor. Was it just him... or was she avoiding him?

"Oh." He was still watching her. Ino tried not to notice.

Shikamaru stared at the way her hands worked, moving on their own. And her hair was still very long, after she let it grow out again. She wore pretty boring clothes today, most likely because of working in the flower shop. There wasn't much that was too special.

But she was _Ino_ after all. And he'd known her for just too long. Although many noticed how great looking she was, he still just saw his blond, bubbly and over exaggerated friend.

Then it happened. When she glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes, then turned back to admire her work with a small smile. And her hair flew over her eye, the other one looking as clear as sky blue. He stared harder, wondering what had just happened. Maybe it had been her smile. Because when you found yourself in the presence of Yamanaka Ino's smile it was hard to fight the urge to smile yourself. He was sure many people would vouch for him.

He grinned to himself, still staring silently. "Hey Ino, you wanna catch a movie when you're done here?"

She froze at the invitation. And turned to him, letting a fake smile slide into place. "What? Got nothing better to do?" She said jokingly, trying to hide the fact that she was feeling a little self-conscious.

Shikamaru scoffed. "Well I'm sorry. I didn't think the great Yamanaka Ino would consider herself so much better than her friend so she wouldn't be able to spend time with him."

"Don't talk about yourself in the third person." Ino said, smiling for real this time. "It's weird."

He gave a flat look. "Shikamaru doesn't think so." And pointed to his face.

She smacked his hand down with a giggle. He grinned at her. "Shikamaru, if I didn't know any better..." She peered at him with a suspicious look, implementing a plan that just came to her. "I'd think you were asking me out on a date."

But he didn't fall so easily into the trap, instead grinning wider. "Maybe I am. Is that a yes?" And then raised an eyebrow at her.

Ino shook her head with a laugh. "You're trying to seduce me, aren't you?" She joked again. "Did our conversation last night bring you any dreams you want to make real?" She teased, going a little overboard with it.

There was dead silence for a few seconds. She realized her mistake. Shikamaru glanced away in this time before looking back at her.

"I guess you won't know unless you accept the offer." He shrugged, back to being nonchalant about the proposal.

She bit her lip, cursing her stupid mouth. "Not sure when I'll be done here. How about I give you a call when I get home?" She watched as he nodded and looked away uninterestedly. He turned and began walking away, and Ino watched for a second. "Wait!" She shouted, running around from behind the counter and walking up to him. She threw her arms around his neck in a tight hug, exhibiting the normal Ino-like behavior he was used to. When she pulled back she used her pointer fingers to stretch his mouth. "Smile you idiot! Or else I take back what I said and I'll find another way to spend my night. I don't want to spend time around a grouch."

Shikamaru stared at her, his mouth being stretched made him look too funny. He grabbed her hands to pull them away, letting him smile on his own. "Yeah, sure." Then let it turn into a smirk. "Now if you're done throwing yourself all over me, and yes I know you can't help yourself, I gotta get home and take a nap."

Ino pulled away completely with a sugary smile. "So you _did_ lose some sleep over me after all!" She commented with her hands clasped behind her back.

Shikamaru shook his own head as he turned and left. Things were suddenly looking pretty good with this "experiment" he was trying with his former teammate. Sure, maybe most people would find this offensive and cruel and blah-blah, but it was all in good fun. And if she really was expecting something, he wouldn't disappoint. But if nothing like that were to happen he would be able to control himself.

What he really wanted to figure out now was what happened in the shop. The moment before she turned around, before he said anything and disrupted the scene. Something happened. But what?

Still inside the shop, Ino gazed at the familiar figure walking away and turned around to clean up around the place.

This was weird. A little. Ok, maybe a lot. But either way she would be able to go out tonight. And it wasn't a date. Well, maybe it was. But that part hadn't been clarified too well. And she really couldn't help it, the way she had talked to him. She was just a very flirty person, and besides he was the one who started it!

She sighed to herself, grabbing a broom to sweep up the nonexistent dust in a corner.

It was Shikamaru. Calm down. Having sex with him was not an option. Flirting? Maybe. A harmless, unclear hanging out type thing that might be considered a date? Possibly ok. But sex? NO. No way. Never. There should be a sign saying 'Warning! Entering Best Friend Territory!' to make sure you avoid stupid situations.

Still... she couldn't help the smile on her face or the abnormally bubbly feeling she got. Going out tonight! With Shikamaru (as a friend of course)! Two great combinations! Nothing could go wrong!

Of course Chouji had warned them about jinxing things...

**xoxo**

Although she now wasn't the type to get girly over little things or most things at all, Hinata couldn't help but start getting that excited feeling in her stomach. Getting married. Albeit it was a while away, the actual wedding ceremony that is.

And after talking to Neji and Kurenai-sensei she was starting to lose most of her worry and anxiety over everything. It was all putting her in a good mood. But she had to say, unhappily, that she hadn't seen Naruto in a few days. It might have been because she was busy dealing with her own things and he was had his own business to take care of as well.

It was a blow when she woke up that morning missing him.

The dark haired girl shook her head; she had a lifetime to be with him. And jokingly she thought she would probably get sick of him within a year of being wedded. Anyway, right now she needed to see her friends. Two people that she had spent so much time with in her genin days.

As she walked down the streets of Konoha this time of afternoon, after being briefed on something by the Godaime, she wondered where they could be. Neither of the two were at home, training on their usual grounds or anywhere else she could think of.

Hinata sighed. And it would so much easier to talk to both of them at the same time. Meeting up and just... being Team Eight. It was very lucky that as she strutted around, she noticed something.

A few minutes later, after she had spotted Kiba's mother and talked to her (being congratulated and fawned over), Hinata discovered the location of him and Shino, along with the ever faithful Akamaru.

She headed over in a slight jog, excited to greet her friends. When she passed the familiar cluster of trees she saw it.

"Shino! Kiba!" Hinata said, her pace faster and her smile wide, waving a hand at them enthusiastically.

The two, along with Akamaru turned back to look at her as she came closer.

"Hey, I thought you'd be with lover-boy all this time." Kiba joked, hands in his pockets.

Shino, for once was not sporting his big coat and sunglasses, nodded to her.

"I don't spend all my time with Naruto." She said with a smile. "I was actually looking for you two. It's almost like you were avoiding me on purpose!"

"We hardly ever see you nowadays." Shino finally stated. Akamaru barked and nudged her leg.

Hinata bent down to pet him and scratch under his chin affectionately. "Heh, hope you don't treat Naruto that well already, right Hinata?" Kiba said with a grin.

She turned a shade of red. "We haven't done anything like that!" Then stopped to laugh at herself. "But I really wanted to talk to you two... about things." She stood up after smiling at Akamaru. "It's true; we hardly get to see each other anymore. It's all the missions and stuff we have isn't it?" Hinata looked at the two pleadingly. "I'm so sorry though! That I haven't kept in touch like I should have! I don't want you guys to think I shut you out when Naruto and I got together, or that it'll be like this when we get married."

Shino shook his head and put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't get so worked up. We never thought that. We never would have blamed Naruto for anything, or you. We've all been busy, like you said."

Hinata beamed at him suddenly. She filled with pride, and thus threw her arms around his neck in a grateful hug that he easily complied with. Hearing Shino, just hearing him showed how much he'd matured. Although he was still brilliant and talented and a great shinobi, he wasn't as introverted as when they were still genin. Sure, she was the youngest out of the three, heck out of the entire group of them but it didn't matter anymore.

Kiba put on a fake pout. "Hey where's my hug?" Hinata looked up and leaped from one to the other. Akamaru barked in acknowledgement. "Shino's right. But what did you wanna talk to us about?" He said, still giving into the tight embrace.

When she pulled back, she was tearing up. "Oh, um..." She swiped at the corners of her eyes, getting rid of the liquid. "Well... maybe we should find somewhere to sit down?" She suggested.

The four, counting the canine, headed around the trees to the visible portion of the park, and spotted a bench not too far away. Hinata and Shino took the obvious seat while Kiba chose to stay on the ground, taking a seat on the grass with Akamaru by his side, yipping in joy at the old team meeting up again.

Hinata started the conversation instead, by asking about the lives of her fellow comrades, finding it more interesting than her own. Shino talked about being set up on dates by Lee and Gai-sensei, mostly dates that never worked out. Kiba on the other hand was still engrossed in learning more techniques and skills from his family. But when the two had exhausted of talking about themselves they turned to her expectantly.

She shifted uneasily under the gaze. "Uh...?"

"Wasn't there something specific you wanted to talk to us about?" Shino questioned, his keen eyes on her.

Kiba nodded. "You must've found our stuff pretty boring. I mean, nothing beats getting engaged, right Hinata-chan?"

"No, it's okay. I've waited so long to have a chance to catch up with you guys. There isn't any need to talk about that right now." She smiled lightly at them. There was a pause in which she twisted her lips and looked around before opening her mouth again. "But I do have a question." She stated.

"Then go ahead already. I'm dying with suspense." Kiba rolled his eyes with a grin, resting his arm on the one leg propped up.

"Have you guys had sex before?"

The two guys turned to stare at Hinata incredulously, seeing as she came right out and asked, unlike her encounter with Neji, unlike what they expected. No blushes, no embarrassed look or averted gaze. She looked at them inquiringly, innocently.

"Why?" Kiba asked with suspicion. A look passed over his face as something clicked and then he looked angry. "Is Naruto making you do anything you don't want to? Is he forcing something on you? Do we need to go-"

Hinata leaned forward on the bench and hit his forehead with heel of her palm. "No! Naruto would never do anything like that to me! You all know him well enough; does it look like he'd be the type of person to force me into something?" She smiled all the same.

Shino shook his head. "You and you're mouth Kiba. Haven't I told you enough times it'll get you in a really tight spot someday?" A pause.

"I'm sure that's where I'd wanna be." Kiba muttered, glancing away.

When Hinata got the implication she blushed slightly. "But neither of you answered me!" She protested.

Shino and Kiba looked at each other, there was a momentary silence until Shino looked at her and nodded. Hinata felt she would fall off the seat. She didn't actually anticipate them saying yes. This is strange.

"Really?" She made a curious face. "With who?"

The boy just shook his head and folded his arms, motioning to Kiba.

Kiba, who also nodded his head, although looked down, a little embarrassed himself. It was one thing to make dirty jokes, but another to admit the truth about something like this with your closest friends.

"But..." Hinata stared at the two, feeling forlorn, and left out. Which really was dumb. There was no need to rush herself into having sex, based on other people.

"Why are you asking?" Shino questioned with a suspicious look like Kiba had before.

"I- I don't know." She admitted. "I was just wondering actually. I had a talk with Neji before..." At their expectant faces she dashed away their hope. "I can't tell you about his personal life! Don't be silly! He might not kill _me,_ but that just seals your fate, you know."

The two looked away feeling dumb. "Wait. Hinata? Are you a virgin?" Kiba asked, looking at her blankly.

To answer this she colored again. "Uh... yeah." Then hastily defended herself. "Who have you ever seen me go out with? I was always waiting for Naruto, I never did anything with other people just for the fun of it." She glared at him without the anger.

"So you and Naruto really haven't done anything?" Kiba tried again, watching as she began twiddling her thumbs, a smirk spreading across his face.

"I'm sure you already know the answer Kiba." Shino said dryly, as Kiba started cracking up and Hinata blushed further.

"So does that mean that Naruto's...?" Kiba stopped chuckling enough to ask.

They all stared around at each other, Akamaru barked in the silence, before the eyes rested on Hinata once again.

"I- I don't know! I haven't asked him that kind of thing!" She stuttered.

"Yeah, but he is your _fiancé._" The Inuzuka said with a sly look. "Haven't you guys talked about any of that? Or at least gotten close and almost-"

He was stopped from making Hinata explode by Shino sticking a foot in his face. The said ninja calmly removed his appendage and glared.

"Maybe that's why she hardly wants to talk to us." Shino stated smartly.

Quiet at first, then picking up volume the two boys along with the canine, listened as Hinata started laughing gaily to herself, apparently setting aside her feelings to find this situation very amusing. Shino cracked a smile and while rubbing his face Kiba managed a weak one too.

After calming herself down, she looked to the two happily. "So you guys don't really... I mean, you're happy for me right?" She asked unsurely.

"That's a pretty dumb question Hinata-chan." Kiba said casually, still trying to ease the ache on his face, shooting Shino a glare.

Which the other boy pointedly ignored. "Of course we're happy for you, why wouldn't we be?" Shino asked blankly. "You are right, we do know Naruto well enough. It's great that you are finally together."

Hinata stared at him a moment. "But you don't think it'll take away our friendship or anything right? You won't turn away from me after we've gotten married?" Then started and replied quickly. "I mean, I know you guys aren't like that! But... I don't know!" She said, throwing her hands up.

Kiba looked at her strangely. "Are you sure you're ready for this then? I know being engaged doesn't seem like much compared to marriage... but it's still big."

To which she replied by nodding her head vigorously. "Of course I'm ready! Why would I have said yes?"

Shino observed quietly before speaking. "We don't mean to insult any part of your relation to Naruto... but it seems like this talk was more for you than it was for us. You're not really making sure we're okay with it, you know we are. You just want to know if _you're_ okay with it."

The other male stared at him as he spoke before looking over at Hinata. "Is that it then?"

She stared at them, just the way she would look at other people when she was twelve. "I talked with Kurenai-sensei too. I was afraid. Of being close to Naruto and then losing him like when she lost Asuma-sensei. And I talked to Neji about his disapproval, which was just my mind jumping to conclusions." She was stopped by Shino.

"So then, as already asked, are you sure you're ready for this? It seems as though you're looking for ways to get out of it."

Akamaru whimpered and got up from where he sat to nuzzle at Hinata's leg. She looked down at him, her expression full of worry. Maybe she had been wrong. Maybe she was just as worried as she had been before talking to these people, Kurenai and Neji. Maybe she was _even more_ worried than before.

So was she just looking for an excuse to not get married to Naruto? That was hard for even her to believe. But they were right, all her behavior pointed to that.

Kiba stood up and brushed off his clothes. "You need to talk to Naruto. This is something you two really need to discuss." He smiled at her. "But it's good you wanted to talk to us. We did help you a bit, right? Now you just gotta go and try to solve this one on your own."

Shino glared at him. "I was the one who came to the conclusion." Then looked at her also. "And this isn't something you're going to solve by yourself. Naruto will be there."

Hinata stared at the two unsurely for a moment as they stood up before her. Akamaru grabbed her shoe lightly to make himself known. They both held out a hand, which she accepted with her own and let them tug her off the seat.

**xoxo**

"So then, where were you that day?" She questioned, leaning against the counter on one elbow.

"I was at the market actually. Why do you ask? Were you looking for me for something?" The man asked with a smirk.

Anko groaned on the inside. "Nope." She shook her head. "I just thought I saw you around at the park, you know, stalking little kids. Gotta go now! Ciao!" And with that she turned around and flounced away leaving the man flushed and utterly confused.

She made her way to the back of the bar to a table where Kakashi waited. Her face coveted a multitude of emotions, right now displaying disgust and annoyance.

"This is the dumbest thing I've ever had to do. And now every person I talk to thinks I'm hitting on them." She seethed.

"Well you have given yourself the reputation." He said logically, making her glare at him.

"How are you going to find any information from these people? No one here cares about your dumb book." With that she took a gulp of the alcoholic beverage they'd ordered. "In fact, I bet all these idiots are perverted just like you with their _own_ collection of those books. Jiraiya has been on the top sellers list for a reason. For losers like you who can't seem to get any action."

Kakashi stared at her in his usual way. "Is that how you think of it?" He raised his eyebrow, the one that could be seen.

"Come on Kakashi, when was the last time you were with a woman?" She laughed to herself. "Scratch that, I mean anyone."

His face darkened at the insinuation. "Thanks for the help." He replied sarcastically. "Actually, I read those books because I find them vastly entertaining, and I don't mean just the physical interaction."

Anko laughed again. "What? Is there some kind of psychology to why a bunch of docile women suddenly want to rip off their clothes when left alone and go at it like animals? Really, I thought you had a better reason to entertain _me_ with." She shook her head and took another sip, keeping her eye on him.

He chose not to respond, instead turning to eye the familiar, yet suspicious characters. "So you haven't gotten anything helpful from anyone?" He questioned without turning to her.

She got angry. "Sorry, nothing. It's too bad for you. Besides what makes you think someone would easily give up information about something they've supposedly stolen?"

The male shinobi looked at her. "Actually it's too bad for _you_ because until we find it, you're still working for me."

"What if I just throw your threat to the wind?" She countered.

"Then you'll probably be getting calls from everyone you work with." He smiled through the mask.

"As if that's new." She muttered, folding her arms and looking away. "Now what?"

Kakashi finally stood up, placing some money on the table. "You're going to do some more investigating for me. I need to go, an appointment." He coughed at the end, making her realize it was a lie.

She glared at him as he left her to do his work. No wonder, he was a pretty lazy shinobi, no matter what his reputation proclaimed. And why did she still sit there wondering what to do next and not leave his book to burn in hell?

It might have been because she was a good person. Or that she admired his Icha Icha Paradise book and maybe wanted to borrow it. Or that she was good friends with Kakashi and didn't mind doing him a favor.

But since we know none of this is true it was simply because his blackmail would be a heavy hit to her flaking and weak reputation around Konoha and she had nothing better to do that day.

So after watching him leave the bar, Anko stared around at the people in the room trying to use her gut instinct and women's intuition to zero in on the sucker so she could leave as fast as possible. But then again, going around and shaking every likely and even unlikely person in the village would also damage her standing just like Kakashi's word.

She sighed and took a gulp of the drink, finishing it soon enough and left. This really was ridiculous. And beside that, no one in there looked suspicious to her. But it might have been her lethargic behavior and the small amount of alcohol her system had recently acquired.

As she strolled around, trying to find a more effective way to weed out the suspects. This is when she happened to pass by a young-er shinobi talking to someone. And suddenly it all made sense.

But just to make sure, she discreetly followed the two.

**xoxo**

The air was full of tension, and more than once on the walk over there she had considered running away from him. But that would be foolish. Not to mention he could easily catch up to her and make her feel even stupider as people around them stared when he did catch her. So there wasn't any choice left.

Neji was trying to keep his head on straight. It had to be the hormones again. Which oddly made him sound like a pregnant woman. Or the cows they talk about on the milk carton when they say 'No hormones added'.

Anyway, the situation was bad. They barely got out of the house without exploding into a pool of red color, which had to be blood. Tenten had left her bag in his room but stuffed the picture in a pocket, then decided against it and stuffed it between her cleavage. Although slightly uncomfortable it was an unlikely spot for someone to search.

Unfortunately, Neji had witnessed this and almost passed out, even though his female friend hadn't noticed. So now they walked comfortably in awkward silence.

It didn't take too long to get to Tenten's place. Before walking up to the door Tenten let her eyes roam around, looking for something. When she didn't see it she sighed and took out her keys to open the door. Neji followed her into the room.

"Now what?" She asked after closing the door behind him and locking everything on the back of the door.

He looked around at the still messy room. "I would suggest looking around for... but you seem to have already tried that." He said with a raised eyebrow at her. "So that's why you didn't want us in here yesterday."

Her look was enough. "I did try obviously. I've already been through everything and there wasn't anything out of the ordinary." She stopped looking at him and made a thoughtful face. "But then again, there was only that one picture taken when I was inside my house."

The two looked around the room a moment, in silence. Neji looked up at her sharply. "Wait, so if that was the only picture taken from in here, then whoever it was had been in your house." Tenten shuddered at the thought after looking at him. "Maybe from looking at the picture we can tell where the person was standing when they took it."

Immediately at the suggestion she glared at him accusingly. He put up his hands in defense.

"I mean... you can probably figure it out on your own anyway." Neji responded cautiously. "I wasn't asking to look at it again." She glared harder. "Not that there's anything wrong with you!" He tried again. When she held the gaze he became frustrated. "There just isn't any way to win here..." He muttered, moving around and plopping down on the couch.

This time, not bothering with his presence, Tenten pulled down the neckline in front of her shirt and pulled out the folded paper. Neji looked away hastily, even though she seemed not to care. "Okay... well..." She studied the photo carefully, examining the surroundings and trying to not look at herself to keep from feeling defiled. "I think..." She began walking in the direction towards the hallway without glancing up.

Neji shot up and headed over to steer her away from walking into a wall. He also managed to carefully avoid looking at the picture in her hands. She let his hands guide her away from danger and kept walking.

Soon she was standing at the bathroom door, with it half open in her wake. Finally snapping out of her trance, Neji standing just a few feet away down the hallway, she looked up and stared into the bathroom.

Tenten boldly held up the picture in front of her, taking its place in the bathroom to show exactly where she had been standing when it was taken. "I've got it. Whoever it was, they were standing right here." She shuddered again and frowned. "They got this close to me; it's even creepier than before. They had the chance to do anything to me while I was most vulnerable but all he or she did was... take a picture?" She ended in a confused tone.

Neji walked up next to her. "What? You would've wanted them to attack you?"

She put down the picture from sight and glared at him for the twentieth time that day. "At least then I would know who it was. And I probably would've been able to stop them easily. Just because I don't have a weapon in my hands doesn't mean I can't make someone fall to their knees."

He grinned suddenly. "You mean by force? Or with the full frontal view of your nude body?"

For that he received a smack on the head with a book that was lying at her feet. He rubbed his head grumpily. "Excuse me Hyuuga, you might have thought that was a joke, or even a compliment but I am _not_ smiling or laughing here."

Finally, Neji got fed up and glared back. "Well if you really don't want my help with this then just tell me so! I'll leave if you want me to." He stared at her hard, their faces quite close, before turning around and heading for the front door. His hand rested on the knob but he waited.

Tenten stared at him with her mouth open. "W-what are you talking about?! I-" She stopped abruptly, still gaping with no words left. Then, "You'd really leave me?" She asked in her quiet voice.

Neji shrugged and glanced to the side of the door. When it seemed like she hadn't seen his motion he turned around to look at her. "I spent about how many days worried about what was up with you. And even though I kept asking you didn't wanna say anything. When you finally admitted to something being wrong but still wouldn't tell me, you kept saying you could handle it. Well if that's it then go ahead and handle it." He folded his arms. "I'll wait and see. Not to be backup or anything, mind you." He moved to sit down on the closest sofa.

She kept staring at him with an unreadable expression before it turned to anger again. "So you think it's okay now to just- to just walk away from this?" She asked, her voice rising. "You've tried and helped and even though it's not over you're gonna leave me alone now?! What if something happens next time?! What if I get attacked by this crazy stalker person? Or- Or- Or-" Tenten tried to make herself continue but found herself repeating the same word over and over again like a broken record.

Neji soon found himself at the end of another assault, although not the kind he was used to, when the kunoichi suddenly leapt over the piles of stuff on the floor and launched herself onto his lap. Tenten sat there, straddling his hips as he sat frozen while she cried onto his shoulder. She grabbed the front of his shirt in her state of hysterics.

The Hyuuga suddenly had no idea where he was or what was going on. He was literally, between a sofa and a woman (as strange as it was to admit) that might be more hormonal than himself. It took a few moments but he finally sighed and cautiously put his arms on her back. It didn't seem to make things better and she was still sobbing uncontrollably on his shoulder. Her hair was tickling his face and his body was rigid, and it was starting to get to him.

Tenten on the other hand couldn't think straight, too frustrated and freaked out and she swore if Neji threatened to leave her again she'd kill him and drag his corpse along everywhere. She tried desperately to calm herself down and felt his hand on her back start moving in slow, rhythmic circles.

She finally calmed herself enough to be mortified at her actions and the situation. It was bad enough she'd just lost her grip on reality, but did it have to be in front of Hyuuga Neji?! The one person she admired above everyone and one of her best friends. Now he probably wouldn't ever be able to look her in the face without remembering this incident.

'Well,' She thought. 'This one and my picture.' And let her lips twist into a wry smile in his shirt.

"No one's gonna come try to harm you Tenten." He tried to explain. She waited but didn't move. "I'll just stay over for a few days right? And if the person does _try_ something I'll get him before anything happens."

"I can't get to sleep." She replied in a small voice. "Too scared, I guess." She flinched as she said it. Dealing with Lee and Gai-sensei? No problem. Practicing with Neji? Sure. Taking care of an S-class criminal or an A-rank mission? Of course! But a stalker coming into your home in the middle of the night, or even day, and defiling your body? ...

Surprised, he tried to look at her, which was a problem with their position and her hair being in the way. "But you were asleep last night when I got out of the shower."

"For about an hour." She confessed, turning her face deeper into his shoulder. "Sorry, I must be heavy. I'll get up now."

Neji sighed and didn't stop her from getting up; his legs were starting to go numb. Tenten carefully removed herself from his person, avoiding his face all the same. She headed straight for the bathroom, trying to ignore the creepy vibes she got in there and immediately stepped into the tub for a shower, still fully clothed.

Of course he had to get up when he heard the water running, only to make sure she wasn't going to drown herself or something. The door hadn't been closed at all and he stared at her strangely, standing under the water in her clothes.

"What are you doing?" He asked incredulously.

Trying to ease back into her normal behavior, Tenten turned to look at him and blinked. "Well it's too creepy to take a shower in here without my clothes now."

He smiled, shaking his head at her from where he stood in the doorway. "Then how is it a shower if you're still in your clothes?"

She turned back towards the water with a huff. "Why is it that everything you say sounds like a proposition or something perverted?" Her eyes closed as the water hit her and bounced off in every direction. "Are you suggesting you want to undress me?" Even with her eyes closed she raised a brow.

If it weren't for all the experiences like this he'd gone through in the past three days Neji would've blushed. Instead he leaned against the doorway and clucked his tongue.

Tenten snorted. "Even that sounded like an innuendo."

"You're acting so jaded." He stated. "And your not."

The brown-haired girl turned her head to look at him directly. "Neji, you've seen me naked. My life is over. I can act jaded all I want." She said with a look, trying to get her point across. "Now do you mind? I would like to take a shower in peace."

Neji sighed at the... yeah, and unfolded his arms as he turned around and left the doorway. Really though, she did seem surprisingly calm now, for someone who was completely out of her mind with paranoia. Oh well, the really crazy ones always seem too normal before going off the deep end.

**xoxo**

No matter how many times Ino told herself it wasn't a "date" she couldn't help but think of it that way in order to get ready and prepare. After getting out of the flower shop she interrupted Shikamaru's nap with a phone call and they'd decided on the time.

True, it was actually only a little past noon and their "get together" was an hour away. But Ino believed in being prepared. Other than that she also had a few errands to do before meeting up with him at the movies.

After contemplating in front of the full length mirror for fifteen minutes something hit her like a rock (well maybe it was) and she realized how foolish she was being. She then resolved to stop thinking about it so much and grabbed a skirt and top, barely giving herself time to have them match (a white collared shirt with short sleeves and green pleated skirt and black boots) and headed out of the house.

First off, she needed to go shopping for food and other products. So as she perused the aisles at the local 'all or nothing' kind of store Ino kept foreign thoughts out of her head. That is, until she came up to the counter and something spotted her eye.

"Is this all, Miss?" The clerk asked, giving what he hoped to be a charming smile.

Ino was stumped as she stared at him blankly. "Uh... huh..." Was the sound that came out of her open mouth. She dumped the stuff in her arms on the counter.

She wasn't slick enough however and the young man who was probably around her age turned around to see what had caught her attention. He grabbed something and grinned, turning back to see Ino's blank face. "Did you need any?"

After that she finally woke up. "No, I don't-"

But he seemed insistent. "Don't worry about it. I'll let you have a few for free. No problem right? You seem pretty torn between getting them or not so I'll just make it easier." He paid no attention to her mouth dropping open again in a small 'o' and went on the ring up the prices. He then went right onto filling the bags with her purchases, adding the free item in last.

Ino stared. When he looked up at her expectantly she looked down and hastily went through her purse to find the exact change. "Uh, thanks." She said before hurriedly grabbing the two bags and practically flying out of the store.

The blonde sighed to herself and paused in the getaway when she was a block away and was _absolutely sure_ the clerk could no longer see her. She didn't dare look into the bag to see the guy's little '"gift" staring up at her.

She tried to slow her breathing. "Oh, why of all days..." She groaned, leaning over in a show of tiredness, causing some people to stare. She did however admit silently to herself she was running low so... but still, when was she _expecting_ to use it??

After gathering her wits she stood up straight and began walking back home at a fairly brisk pace, trying to get their fast enough to dump the bags on the floor. Her hands were on fire. Why was she still holding the bags anyway? Why couldn't she just let go and leave them in the middle of the not-so-crowded street?

Almost there. Only a few more blocks. So close.

When disaster strikes.

"Hey, I was just on my way over." Shikamaru said, having come from another direction and was now standing directly in front of her. He rubbed the back of his head anxiously. "You went shopping?" He raised an eyebrow at his words, and even more so because she didn't answer him.

Ino stood there with her mouth agape. What the hell was her problem? Bad, bad luck... that had to be it... "Uh..." Was once again all she managed out through the tiny space between her lips.

With his eyebrow still cocked he went on. "How about I help you-"

"No!" Ino jerked away the bags protectively, half turned away. Then realized how dumb she sounded. "No, they're not even heavy. Don't worry about it."

Now both his eyebrows were up. "Sure... You still wanna go see a movie then or what?" He questioned, pretty much fearing that she'd cancel on him. Which was dumb. It was Ino. They could spend whenever together. In fact, he'd probably spent _too_ much time with her as a genin and in the academy. He sighed inwardly.

"Of course. I've just... got to get home and drop these off." She was about to start walking when he spoke up.

"I'll just come with you then." He shrugged.

Ino froze on the spot. "Uh... w-why are you even coming to my place anyway? I thought we were gonna meet at the place, for the thing." She cursed herself, still managing the confused look on her face.

He shrugged again. Ino noticed how for once in a while he wasn't wearing his chuunin vest or usual clothes, instead sporting a dark t-shirt and green khaki pants. "Dunno, just thought it'd be nice to walk over there together. You don't live all that far from my place." He responded.

'Oh shit. I don't? Damnit. Damnitdamnitdamnit.' She wanted to bang her head against the wall on her left when these thoughts surfaced. "Actually, I really need for you not to be here right now." She stated as honestly, not to mention desperately, as she could. "I gotta get home! I'll see you there in a twenty minutes!" She shouted, taking off down the path to her house in a run.

Shikamaru stared strangely at the girl, wondering what disease was eating at her head today. As he turned to walk in the direction of the theater something still fluttering to the floor, no doubt from the take-off Ino had made, caught his eye.

He stopped and stared at it with a few blinks in disbelief. Was that a...?

He bent down and snatched it up before someone rounded the corner and saw. He looked up to see the direction Ino had headed in.

A condom...?

Now things would be interesting... and strange.

He pocketed it. For "_safety_ measures" of course.

**xoxo**

Although quite achingly difficult and embarrassing as it was to follow someone and their _dog,_ it was worth it. Anko now held in her hands the dusty and dirty book, walking slowly down the street.

The story of how she got it was being played in her head over and over again. It really was a great coincidence and she was lucky now to get off the hook from Kakashi's idiocy.

As she walked down the street toward the pervert's house she let herself snort at the cover and was soon flipping pages through the book.

It didn't take long for her to stop in her tracks as an absolutely evil grin came over her face. Really, it was only fair. She could finally get Kakashi back for being a jerk and making her do the "work" involved in getting his precious book back.

'Besides,' She thought, letting her eyes roam over the pages. 'He might even enjoy it. Who ever said being a sadist was cruel?'

Instead of heading straight to his place to rectify the situation he'd created, Anko turned around and headed home, clutching the small book in one hand.

"Stupid Kakashi." She mumbled to herself.

While at the other end of town, the said ninja suddenly bit his tongue and looked up lazily from where he sat on the sofa.

"Hm?" Was the sound he made, scratching his forehead.

**xoxo**

When Ino did show up at the theater half an hour later she was twitching worse than an experiment of Orochimaru's. Of course Shikamaru tried to ignore this, along with the urge to grin at the stricken look on her face.

He had planned to flash the condom before the date with the simple question of whether she'd dropped it in her hurry... but decided not to. It'd be too awkward for her.

"Hey, what took so long?" Shikamaru questioned.

Ino put on a glare. "_I'm_ on time. You're the one who's early." Was her retort.

Then he did grin. It was funny to realize how angry or annoyed she got over stupid, little things. "Yeah, okay." He said, brushing it off. "What do you wanna see?"

She turned to look at the various movie posters advertising. "How about a foreign film?" She asked, examining a few.

Shikamaru shrugged. They picked a movie, he bought the tickets and they went in.

Only to stumble out after ten minutes of previews and five minutes into the movie.

"How do you change your mind after the first minute of the opening scene?" Shikamaru grumbled, sticking his hands in his pockets.

Ino looked sick. "Were you even paying attention? There was so much gore in there they practically threw packets of fake blood at the camera!" She exclaimed. "I just... am not in the mood for that."

"Whatever. Let's go eat something." He said, and began walking.

"Are you kidding? Gore? Blood?" She jogged to catch up.

"Yeah, reminds me of ketchup, and tomato sauce on pizza." He shrugged.

She rolled her eyes and followed him. "You know, I hardly see anyone anymore." She said, letting her eyes dart to his passive face. "Except you. I see you almost everyday now."

"What? Not satisfied?" He smirked, still staring straight ahead.

Ino laughed and hit him with her elbow. "Nah, gets kinda annoying after a while."

"Right, _I'm_ annoying." He rolled his eyes in response.

They stopped in at the nearest place, which happened to be a pizza parlor. Ino thought maybe Shikamaru focused some telepathic ability to make it appear there. Or else he had been heading in that direction all along.

They sat down at a booth in the mostly empty place and ordered a pizza with too many toppings.

The blonde glanced around at the people. "It's been so quiet lately." She commented.

"Huh?"

"I mean, with the missions and all. I haven't even been assigned to anything new yet. Usually I'd have something waiting in my mailbox when I'd just get back from one. How about you?" Ino asked, turning to look at him.

He leaned back in his seat. "Now that you mention it, no. But maybe we should take that as a good sign. Didn't Chouji say not to jinx things?" He paused. "Ah, well Chouji says a lot of things."

She looked around again. "Right... in any case I'll probably be meeting up with the girls soon anyway."

They lapsed into silence, not sure what to talk about. Actually, a lot of their relationship was just based on silence. Usually when Ino found Shikamaru sleeping or cloud watching in his favorite spot. But until lately there hadn't been enough time for it.

Ino stared at him openly. He caught on and stared right back. "You grew up Shikamaru." She said softly. "Stupid jounin." She joked. "You know," She spoke up and leaned over the table slightly. "You look the same. But different. You get it, right?"

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at her. "Uh... sure."

"Oh!" She replied in an admonishing tone. "Like, you seem the same, but I can see how much you've changed. You aren't as lazy and thoughtless as before."

"Hey, when was I thoughtless?" He demanded.

"When you forgot about my birthday." She said matter-of-factly.

"I forgot about my own birthday that year! Someone had to remind me!" He said with a hand on his head. "And why do you keep bringing this up? The whole changing and being different and crap?"

"I don't know." She replied indignantly. "It's just something to think about. And lately it's always on my brain. And if you didn't want to hear about it why didn't you just say so?"

Shikamaru smiled amusedly. "Would you have listened anyway?"

There was a spare second of silence. "Yes." She said decisively in a calm manner that freaked him out.

He stared at her incredulously. The pizza came and Ino started eating daintily without him. He caught on though and finally started chowing down as well.

"I think I'll go home after I'm done." She said in-between a few small bites. "More errands and things." She left out the part where she'd normally say 'we need to hang out more often, and bring Chouji along too!' and kept eating.

He stopped, mouth still open and awaiting the slice of pizza that was less than an inch away from it. The realization came at the worst time.

He didn't want her to leave. He wanted to spend more time with her.

Ino wasn't paying attention to this, too busy trying to regain her appetite and wondering why she was suddenly in a foul mood. After all these years she'd thought she was able to control her temperament.

Shikamaru hastily resumed eating and trying to form a plan in his head. An idea came to him and he gulped down the bite he was chewing before speaking. "Hey, you've never really seen my place before, right? How about coming over to visit?"

She opened her mouth to protest, not having eaten much anyway. Which was strange considering she usually scarfed down anything she loved now that she'd thrown away the diet and crap idea.

"It won't take too long. I won't keep you from your errands." He grinned at the end. His look aimed at her excuse.

Ino knew this and huffed. "Sure. Bout time you actually invited me over too. You always make me wait in the doorway when you wake up late."

"Oh come on. That's only happened around three times or so." He rolled his eyes.

She stared at him a second before beaming. The blonde reached across the table to put a thumb on his lower lip. She admired his grin for a moment before it faded in his confusion and then grinned herself. She moved her thumb across his lip before pulling away with tomato sauce on it and stuck it in her mouth with a laugh. His face was priceless; Ino just shook her head, still sucking lightly on her thumb before pulling it out.

**xoxo**

He opened the door cautiously, looking around once before moving aside to let her in. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

Ino looked around with hawk eyes at the small place that Shikamaru called his home. She looked fairly unimpressed. After two steps inside and closing the front door he walked around in front of her. She raised a brow at him.

"No need for a tour or anything, go look around if you want." He shrugged, walking to the small kitchen and getting himself a soda from the refrigerator.

The kunoichi did as was expected and walked around the place, examining everything. She looked at the ordinary kitchen and living room, then bathroom. And before Shikamaru could yell out a 'hey!' she was in his bedroom.

Also, as to be expected, this was the only room that looked lived in. It was a complete mess. Ino was wrinkling her nose at the sight of clothes flung over every surface. Shikamaru appeared in the doorway with a frown.

Ino walked around, nearing a window on the left side of his bed and end table. "Lazy." She said under her breath, also frowning. "Maybe you should hire a maid." She said looking up at him. "You know I'd expect more with that jounin salary."

"Why're you criticizing my bedroom? Why don't you just clean it yourself then?" He complained, walking to the bed and dropping himself on it.

Ino stared as he did so, her frown still there. Suddenly she was lost in thought with that look on her face.

Being around Shikamaru was so weird. They joked a lot, and sometimes flirted. And then other times it was so... dry, like now. How did she ever think there'd be some passionate feeling between them? Must've been wishful thinking.

She was brought back when something Shikamaru had thrown at her hit her leg, and apparently it had a slightly sharpened corner that scraped lightly at her skin. Ino was surprised at first as she snapped out of her daze, then frowned and looked down at the object while unconsciously rubbing the spot on her leg. She froze.

Shikamaru stared at her reaction, lying on his side on the bed with a leg propped up.

"Uh..." She started as she bent down to pick it up. "Are you trying to... ask me something?" Ino questioned, holding the condom pinched between two fingers.

He slowly began grinning. "Actually, I just had that lying around. Why? You wanna make use of it?"

Her eye twitched. There it was again. The misleading behavior. And now this opportunity was here, it was within grasp. But she couldn't tell if he was joking. And if he wasn't joking, then what? Go for it? Jump in the sack with your best friend and former teammate, Shikamaru?!

She wasn't considering it! At least that's what she wanted to think. But just thinking about it meant something.

"I gotta go Shika!" She said hurriedly, dashing to the bed and dropping the packet before giving him a quick, friendly (and slightly experimental) kiss on the lips and dashing out of the room.

Shikamaru was so caught off guard he shot up into a sitting position after she'd left the room. In fact with her speed she was probably down the block by now. He stared at the door blankly. Then sighed, shook his head and shoved a hand in his hair.

"Guess that was bad timing." He said to himself. "She's not ready to try it."

Of course, who would though? Moving from a comfortable friendship to something more? Perhaps even destroying the bond altogether for some gratification and change.

Still... maybe he was getting somewhere after all. She kept complaining about not changing and everybody leaving her behind, well if he worked at it maybe he could help some.

Or else be a fool and end up killing himself after a failed attempt at this. Not something he wanted to dwell on.

**xoxo**

She wasn't home yet. It was past midnight now. And he had no idea where she was.

She couldn't possibly be with the Hokage, or at the hospital, or _working_ because... well it was late!

Sasuke sat in a brooding position on the sofa, staring at the front door. He was still waiting for her to come home. And it was strange that she wasn't back yet.

He might have given into the thoughts that she could be in trouble if he didn't know how capable of a ninja she was. And besides that, where would he look for her? Where could she possibly have gone?

It was time to admit the truth. Sakura was avoiding him. On purpose. Why else would she be out so late? On most nights, usually her very demanding days, she couldn't wait to be home.

The Uchiha stared sullenly at the door, waiting. She wouldn't dare stay out the entire night though. Sakura loved her home, her bed. No matter how uncomfortable it was between them she would always come back. Right?

He wasn't surprised to realize how ironic the situation was. That now instead of her waiting for him to come back it was the other way around. And he was loathe to think that maybe, just maybe she had finally given up on waiting for him.

That maybe she was finally just too tired to be with him. Tired of dealing with him and taking care of him. The thought of that made him more depressed than he already was.

If he didn't even have Sakura by his side anymore, who did he have? There was always Naruto, there like the best friend he'd never admit him to be. But Naruto had Hinata now. Things were changing, and people were moving on.

And perhaps he'd just been holding Sakura back. Perhaps she wanted to get away from Sasuke and get out into the world. She'd hardly ever had any romantic entanglements like most people her age. She was sometimes too serious, and it was probably all his fault.

She was taking care of him like he was a child. Or a crippled person. But she didn't show the same concern she showed her patients. Around him she always seemed exhausted and stressed. As if this _child_ had finally crushed all her nerve and she couldn't deal with him anymore.

Now was not the time to wait. He really did have to act. Well... wait for her to come home, yes. Wait for her to acknowledge him again, no. Do something you idiot!

**xoxo**

**Third chapter** done. Nothing much to say. If I do it will probably be added later when I reread, edit and such. Strange chapter. Anyways, hopefully the next will be the last one and it'll be good and make up for what this was lacking.

12-8-06

9:26pm

**Uh, whoops. I guess I was supposed to update this like a week ago or something. All's well, it doesn't seem to be generating that much success anyway, prolly cuz it's so long. Word count for this chapter? Oh, about ... 15.3k. Yeah. Harsh.**

**MUAH! KISSES!**

**10-18-07**

**11:13pm**


	4. Chapter 4

12-10-06

9:29pm

one-shot turned too long fic, couples- Shikamaru/Ino, Neji/Tenten, some Naruto/Hinata and Sakura/Sasuke and a smash of Kakashi/Anko

Summary- Tenten is being blackmailed and finally takes the chance to ask for Neji's help in the matter, as Kakashi's current volume of Icha Icha Paradise has gone missing and he's come to the conclusion it's been stolen. And Naruto and Hinata have just announced their engagement while Sakura and Sasuke are trying to help each other muddle through life, all the while there's a plot to push Ino and Shikamaru closer together. Life could only be less clear...

**Disclaimer- I do not own Naruto or any of the characters.**

**xoxo**

**Title-Hidden Leaves**

**Chapter 4**

**By-Moon Prynces**

**xoxo**

The first thing he noticed upon opening his eyes was his hair. Very disheveled and covering his eye. Instead of moving he let out a puff of air and blew a few strands away, although most of it just fell back into place.

Then he realized he was on his bed, where he'd thrown himself before he almost passed out on the couch. Finally he looked up to see Sakura's back in front of his face.

True, they were once again very close on the bed again, but it meant little. He'd come to sleep and had unconsciously let himself lay on her side of the bed. And maybe she had come home and angrily shoved him over a little to reclaim her space.

It didn't seem to work so well seeing as he was only a few inches from her body. He sighed, relieved that she was home and in front of his eyes.

Without hesitation he moved closer still, wrapping his arm back around her waist, just as he had two nights ago. He rested his head on the pillow, chin and mouth engulfed by her hair.

In actuality Sakura wasn't asleep. She had been awake half an hour before him. And as proof, at Sasuke's advance she made a slight noise in the back of her throat.

When he heard this his lips moved, voice low. "You didn't come home last night."

Instead of fighting him off like she had yesterday, she only made another sound. "How would you know?" She mumbled bitterly.

"I waited." He answered, not surprising her in the least. Because she didn't seem to care anymore. "Until about one in the morning." He continued. "Where were you?"

Sakura sighed as the expected question arose. "Sasuke, I've been thinking..." She trailed off ominously. And then she did fight his grip, twisting out of it and sitting up to look at him. "Maybe you should move out. Or I'll move out. I'll let you have this place if you can't find anywhere to stay. I could always just go back to my parents, or Ino's. It doesn't matter."

He only had the will to stare at her, most definitely not understanding.

She sighed. "You and I. This living arrangement is not working out. We need space, and you... you need help. And I can't help you." She almost muttered 'I'm sorry' but held herself back.

"You can't." He said, almost stuttering, but his voice held some hint of concern. Concern for himself, or for them both, she had no idea.

Another sigh. "Why not? Living on your own isn't too hard Sasuke. In fact, it might be easier," She struggled with the words, looking straight ahead. "Than right now."

Sasuke was silent as he thought things over. Before he finally opened his mouth with another argument. "You want to get away from me, don't you?" He questioned, also sitting up in bed.

Green eyes shifted around nervously. "Uh... it's just that... you're taking things the wrong way. We aren't- we aren't," She struggled again. "We aren't a couple or something. You're making it seem like we are. You're making this harder than it is."

He didn't bother responding after this. Slowly he lay back down in the bed, looking up at the ceiling and trying to make some sense of what was happening. Funny how suddenly everything seemed to be crushed. His plan, his motive, his entire life.

One of those feelings where you're overwhelmed with something horrible and panic is the only thing left to do.

Sakura stared around the room with her arms on her knees, the sheet still covering most of her form. She had no idea what she was doing, but moving away from each other had to be better than what they were doing to each other right now. Which was absolutely nothing.

She could tell he wasn't taking the news well, and she actually hadn't meant to bring it up so abruptly, but his behavior lately was...

Pulled out of her thoughts, by quite literally being pulled down onto the bed Sakura found herself in his grip once more. She stared up at the ceiling as his arm draped across her partly exposed midriff. Sasuke turned to face her, resting his nose in her hair, brushing lightly against her temple.

"Don't go." He said in a low voice, his breath tickling her. She didn't answer and could only stare up blankly. "I do need you. Please don't go." He whispered, eyes fluttering closed.

Was Uchiha Sasuke begging? She wondered. Was she making a mistake? Was there still time? For something... for what?

It was ridiculous, she decided. It was time to grow up. And she was positive she retained no romantic feelings for Sasuke anymore. And as far as being a good friend went... well he seemed to be expecting more than she could give. It was definitely time to give up.

Sasuke was busy trying to stay calm. He wasn't sure where he was going with this. Actually, he wasn't sure what he was saying or why. It was just anything to stop her from leaving. Because somehow, being without her presence made the world end, made him panic, made him completely lost.

But how could he tell her this? He could barely croak out a few words. Very cliché and meaningless words. Say something, he thought, say something, somebody.

So it was his turn again. "What do you want me to...?" It was most certainly the wrong question.

"There isn't anything left to do Sasuke." She said in a dull voice. "And you don't need me. I can't help you. I'm sorry." She said it this time.

But even though she could hear his heart breaking she wouldn't change her mind, and she still stayed there with him for a while longer. Why was she fighting this? Was the only thing he could think. Wasn't this what she'd always wanted?

Naruto would probably kick his ass if he found out how things were going. He'd told Sasuke to talk to her. And it was much more difficult than him getting over his lack of social skills because Sakura wasn't cooperating.

What else was there to do? Despite being a smart person, an exceptional ninja and having a good amount of tact, he couldn't remember anything or come up with anything.

At least she wasn't shoving him off like last time. But then he might've just jinxed it...

**xoxo**

"So you're sure he passes by here every morning." She stated, facing at the man with an assured look.

"Twice." He added, just to prove his memory. "He always stops by on his way to get something to eat. And then about an hour later he passes right back. Usually waves and says he's headed back home or something."

"Perfect." She smiled cruelly, licking her lips. The man didn't seem to notice. "What does he normally have?"

"Uh..." He paused, looking upwards with a thoughtful look, hands on his sides. "Depends. I think it depends on his mood and how his day is going."

She stared at him in disbelief. "How his day is going? If he just rolled outta bed and strolled by how far could his day have gone already?" Anko leaned over the counter, exhausted with the preparation.

The old man smiled at her. "Who knows? Maybe he just wakes up on the wrong side of the bed sometimes. He's usually late for something too. Seems like a permanent habit with him."

"What if he decides not to get something today then?" She questioned in a frustrated voice. Why did she bother waking up so early for this then? What a waste of a good day to sleep in.

"Don't worry. It's not too hard to tempt a man with food. Or other things." His eyes twinkled at the joke.

She grinned wryly at him. "That's what I'm counting on." They shared a mischievous look. "So do you mind adding this to whatever it is he gets?" She pulled a bag with an unknown substance in it.

The man stared at it carefully, then looked up at her and nodded. "So, are you his girlfriend out to teach him a lesson? I wondered when such a handsome young man would stop playing the field."

Anko's stare didn't answer much. Kakashi? Playing the field? Slowly her face started to crack and her mouth split into a wide grin. Yeah, if she ever were to believe he _wasn't_ a pervert more interested in graphic novels than actual people she might have gone along with it. But since that was the farthest thing from the truth, from what she could tell anyway, she started laughing her ass off immediately.

After a few moments of this and watching the old man chuckle along in-between the tears pouring out her eyes, she finally toned it down to a smile.

"Okay then, so you're willing to do me this one tiny favor, right?" She asked once more with a sweet smile.

"Of course. I think it's all right if you're trying to put him in his place for something. But I think I should warn you, men are usually too stubborn for their own good. Watch out, he seems more resistant than he looks." The old man tittered with another laugh.

"Sure, of course!" She agreed just to keep him in good humor. "Thanks!"

With that she left the small, conveniently placed, breakfast stand, similar to that of Ichiraku's. The owner stared at her back with a pleasant smile and shook his head. Ninja these days... one minute they're trying to kill each other and the next they're trying to seduce each other.

Anko smiled to herself as she kept walking, ready to get a start on the next phase.

**xoxo**

In the Hyuuga mansion Hinata awoke grumpily to the thought that today was going to be horrible and she might as well go back to sleep anyway. There weren't any pressing missions or business that needed to be taken care of at the moment and hopefully no one was looking for her.

The heiress stared at the ceiling with the covers still in their very comfortable position on her body. Yesterday was tiring. In fact the past week had been tiring, and not to copy Shikamaru, but it was all so troublesome.

She thought back to the one day almost a week ago, where she had come home from training by herself with her body sore and muscles aching to see Naruto waiting in her room. At that point in the relationship they were so comfortable and familiar with each other so all she did was give him a peck on the lips and went straight the her bathroom.

And then came out in a sloppy outfit with her sloppy hair feeling absolutely exhausted to find Naruto fiddling with the ring. He looked like a deer caught in headlights. So he blurted out the first thing that came to mind as she stood there staring at him blankly with a towel around her neck. Something that sounded something like 'Uh,themeantto- marry me!'.

Hinata reflected on how happy, yet slightly confused they had both been. Now it seemed like getting married was the worst thing possible. And that was definitely not how she wanted to look at it.

God, life sucked.

A loud knock at her door made her jump and she sat up in bed and said, "What is it?"

A random family member, whose voice she couldn't make out through the thick door and her delusional morning state spoke up. "You had a call earlier. But I thought you might still be sleeping so I told him to leave a message. It was Naruto." The hairs on the back of her neck stood up. "He said he's been looking for you. He wants to meet up with you later." A pause, and Hinata could practically feel the person's lips curl into a smile. "Of course he wants to spend time with his fiancée."

Hinata held a breath until she heard the person walk away before letting it out. She looked down to find herself clutching onto the blanket tightly. She let go and shoved it off, heading to take a shower.

She hated to think that maybe she just didn't want to spend time with Naruto right now. It was downright horrible in her mind. She loved him with all her being. And soon they would be wedded, and although it meant no difference to either of them whether this event occurred or not because they'd spend their lives with each other anyway... she couldn't help feeling distant now.

She wanted some space, and some time to think. But she'd already gone through the motions of talking to the most important people around her about her relationship with Naruto. Neji, Kurenai-sensei, Kiba and Shino, not to mention Akamaru who was forever by his master's side.

It only lead her down a horrible path to the realization that maybe she just wasn't ready to get married just yet. And what would Naruto think if she told him? She couldn't bear to hurt him like that.

The dark haired girl trudged into the bathroom and stripped her clothes as she turned on the shower, then stepped in.

Younger Hinata used to be one to worry and brood over every little thing, but now she had grown to take things lightly unless seriousness was needed. It was easier to smile and not blush, and she was much more sociable. She had grown up. Now she even had someone who loved her, and she loved him back.

So what was the problem? What was stopping her?

Too many thoughts swirled in her head and the steam and hot water made her dizzy. She decided not to think about it. And perhaps... meeting up with Naruto right now was not the best time.

She still needed to figure some things out. And she had to be sly about how she lied. She didn't want Naruto to think she was purposely avoiding him, even though that's _exactly_ what she was doing.

Hinata sighed regretfully, suddenly hating herself for making this into a big deal. If she hadn't been so...

"Argh!" She shouted, pulling at and messing up her hair.

**xoxo**

On the other side of town however, another Hyuuga was also just getting up. This happened to be because Neji had spent the night at Tenten's place, supposedly to "protect" her from the stalker-ish person whom they had yet to identify.

Although it pained him to say it (literally), he had spent the night on her couch. He did make a valiant attempt at trying to pull an all-nighter, but fell asleep around three in the morning.

Tenten on the other hand was still not doing so well from yesterday. She hadn't gotten a wink of sleep and spent the entire night staring blankly at the ceiling... before turning over to stare blankly at the wall on her left... before turning again to stare blankly at the wall on her right... and getting up to circle the house like a hawk, looking for anything out of place.

She still refused to take a shower without her clothes. Which was a strangest thing Neji had ever witnessed. And he _was_ forced to witness it as she always left the bathroom door half open. And he wasn't even sure how she managed to get out of the wet clothes into something dry without completely cracking. Luckily she'd only taken one other shower besides the first one yesterday.

Now she sat on the sofa in her living with her face in her palm, staring around as if she didn't know where she was.

Neji was in the kitchen making them breakfast. It did manage to shock her that he knew how to cook. But for most of the time her mind was devoid of thought.

"Here, eat something." He commanded, putting down a plate of scrambled eggs and a cup of orange juice.

She took the plate in her hand and poked at the eggs with her fork. "I don't like my eggs scrambled."

He huffed and sat down across from her on another couch, picking up his own plate of eggs. "Well if you had said that before I started making them..."

"How was I to know you were making eggs?" She asked irritably. She poked a bit more before shoveling some into her mouth. He stared, waiting for a smart ass comment, which he received. "Well, I'm not lying in a puddle on the floor in agony... yet."

He glared but continued eating. After half an hour of silence and when they'd finished breakfast, the plates now rested on the coffee table and the two sat there staring around.

"So..." Neji tried to start off. "Are you okay now?" He questioned slowly, letting his eyes avert to her face.

Tenten gave him a dry look.

He only rolled his eyes. "Stop being so dramatic already. And you're not going to take another shower with your clothes on; even it means I have to strip them off you myself."

And for once, instead of either of them blushing, the two glared fiercely at each other.

"You'll get yourself sick that way." He stated again.

She folded her arms over her chest and moved back into the sofa, crossing one leg over the other. "Well maybe it's time for you to go home now then." She said.

An eyebrow was quirked and a hidden smirk came out. "Weren't you the one begging me to stay?"

She looked away quickly. "I didn't say that! I said it'd be ungentlemanly for you to just leave a girl in a crisis like this." She sniffed indignantly.

"And weren't you the one who suddenly threw herself on me and started crying?" He leaned forward, face on the top of his folded hands and elbows on knees.

Tenten turned back to glare at him. At first it seemed like she would say something scathing, but then the weirdest thing happened. Slowly she began to grin. "Hey Neji, do you mind?"

"Mind what?" His anger and teasing mood suddenly gone and replaced by confusion.

Tenten stood up from her seat and took deliberate, small steps in his direction.

He raised a brow again and moved back in his seat to stare up at her when she stood before him. And then widened his eyes when she was on his lap again, like the day before. Same legs straddling his hips, this time her hands resting on his shoulders and her hair just as wild and loose as before.

"W-what are you doing?" He asked in a strange voice. 'Oh no, not now. Not now!' He thought to himself. 'Not the hormones again!' He cursed mentally.

"Shh." She put a finger in front of her lips in the universal sign of 'be quiet' and she had a sly smile on her face.

He didn't start complaining either when she leaned her head near his shoulder and... started to kiss and suck on his neck. Now this was definitely strange. Out of her normal behavior and... something he wouldn't mind letting happen again.

Neji unconsciously let his hands rest on her hips and leaned back further into the sofa. He also felt her hands as they worked themselves on his shoulders, massaging and relaxing him.

Her lips moved down further to another spot on his neck and more than once he felt her tongue brush his skin. He really had to wonder where she learned any of this. And then panic and wonder _why_ the hell she was doing it.

Tenten finally stopped her mouth from working on that area of his body and pulled back to stare at him carefully. She hesitated and he watched, not sure what to do.

Mentally she shrugged to herself and thought, 'One kiss isn't gonna hurt' before descending on his lips with her own. She let it linger and it was very slow from beginning to end.

She moved slowly, cautiously, turning her head at an angle to make it easier. She even let her tongue slide against his lips briefly, but didn't let anything go far as open-mouthed.

She had somehow managed to snake her arms around his neck, which wasn't too difficult, seeing as he was a lost little kitten in her grasp. She experimented a bit and tried to make him do the exact same back.

Now, let's be honest. Neji wasn't exactly the most... well, he was just pretty much unreachable from the people that wanted him. And he never _seemed_ interested in any of the things he was now engaged in. So basically it was safe to say he'd never had, or had little, experience in this area.

Although with the way Tenten had initiated and was trying to _teach_ him, it wasn't too hard to catch on. She did seem pretty patient about the whole thing. Or else it could be she was just plain _enjoying_ it.

So he found the right angle at which to tilt his own head and was letting his lips lap gently against hers in the same manner as she had started. He realized his hands were getting antsy and were moving up and down her sides at a pace that wasn't fast or slow.

He really had no idea what else to do with them, and he was actually afraid to touch any part of her body without her giving him the okay.

For Tenten, it was obvious she'd had a lot of experience in this aspect of life. But that... should be gone into later on.

As she finally peeled themselves off of each other, holding Neji by his shoulders, Tenten stared into his eyes for a moment while breathing heavily. She then let out a breath of air and flopped off of the Hyuuga and landed next to him on the sofa.

She let herself sit there in an awkward position and tried to catch her breath. Neji stared at her in confusion again, also sagging.

"What just happened?" He asked in a tired voice, waiting for something predictable.

"I came up with a plan!" She said excitedly, jumping up from the sofa with a happy look. "To get rid of the stalker person! We could just pretend you and I are suddenly a couple and he'll get the hint and get the hell away. I mean, who really wants to mess with a Hyuuga?" She asked, eyes twinkling.

Neji groaned. "What?! Why didn't you tell me about the plan before doing anything?"

She shrugged, sitting back down. "Well, couples don't announce they're gonna do stuff! It'd look weird if we were acting all serious and discussing something and then were all over each other!"

"What if he can hear you right now?" And paranoid as they were, he looked around as he spoke.

"If he was able to hear us he would've left in tears by now!" She brushed it off.

"So... all that... was a part of your weird, twisted little plan?" He questioned, turning to look at her.

"Yeah... it was harder than I thought... sorry about that." She looked sheepish a moment.

Neji sighed. At least she seemed back to normal... kind of. "Why? What was hard?" He asked defensively, wondering if it had something to do with his lack of skill.

"Because I was worried if I went about it the wrong way you'd get weirded out. That's why I didn't kiss you. At first. I thought it might give you the wrong impression."

"Uh, Tenten, I think you gave the wrong impression from the beginning."

"But it was fun, wasn't it?" She beamed at him.

Neji stared at her. "What?"

"It's like having a good work out or something. Gets adrenaline pumping and endorphins and all that stuff. Makes you feel better."

He was still staring. "You just used me to make someone stop being interested in you."

"Don't be so touchy." She rolled her eyes. "We can always do it again if you want." She grinned, her face full of mischief.

"Where'd you learn to do all that? The whole seduction thing? You knew how to walk and sit and move and do everything." And for once the Hyuuga looked kind of awed.

"I'm a kunoichi. There are a lot of tricks they teach us that you don't know about."

There was a pause and the two stared straight ahead at the window and wall. Then Neji grinned to himself.

"I hope to see some more of those tricks in action then."

**xoxo**

Why was she up at this hour? was the only thing Ino could come to think of. Because not only had she woken up at the crack of dawn, but in a burst of energy she didn't know she had, she had managed to clean every inch of her house, make herself a proper breakfast, take a wonderfully refreshing shower and got ready for a big day.

And now, it was only about eight or nine o'clock as she wandered down the streets of Konoha, completely disgusted at looking at her Barbie-doll clean house.

Of course, thoughts of Barbie lead to thoughts of Ken and this made her curse their stupid perfect, unspoken relationship with no problems or kinks in it. Then, she had to wonder if maybe there was behind the scenes action and trouble that the normal world never knew about. And then this would make her realize how stupid she was thinking about the relationships and life of an inanimate object.

Ino stomped down the street angrily, wanting so badly to yell and shout and groan aloud. She had managed to dress herself in her normally, inappropriate attire that she wore on her days off with nothing better to do, a pair of denim shorts and a white t-shirt with a pair of flip-flops.

"Hey Ino!" An exuberant voice brought her out of her demented own world.

She looked up to see a blonde smiled cheerfully at her. "Hi Naruto." She slowly smiled back at him.

"What're you up to? You seemed kinda..." He looked around and scratched the back of his head, thinking that words crazy, mental, and insane wouldn't get him anywhere when he would be planted into the ground for using them. "Not well today..." His voice dropped at the phrasing.

"Uh..." The blonde stared blankly, not sure how to lie. "Oh! It's nothing! It's just... I had planned on sleeping in today since there's nothing I need to do, but I woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep." She said with a nervous laugh.

"Oh, no wonder. I know exactly how that feels." Naruto looked around. "If you're not doing anything how about we hang out or something. I never spend any time with you, or most of the guys anymore." He suggested cheerfully again.

Ino nodded and the two started a silent walk to an unknown destination. Not one for awkward pauses and especially long silences, Ino opened her mouth to say something.

"So, how's Hinata?" She questioned, looking at the person next to her.

His forehead wrinkled, still looking ahead. "Actually, I haven't talked to her in a few days. I was looking for her this morning but when I called they said she was probably still sleeping."

Ino shook her head, looking ahead again as well. "Naruto, of course she'd be sleeping so early in the morning. Didn't we go over that already? What if _you_ had interrupted her perfect morning sleep?"

He grinned. "I doubt she'd mind. It's me after all." He beamed happily.

"So have you guys picked a date yet?" She asked suddenly.

He looked confused. "What? A date?"

She rolled her eyes. "For the wedding."

To this he shrugged. "Like I said, I haven't seen Hina-chan around, so I haven't been able to say hi, let alone discuss the details."

"Naruto." She stated with feeling, causing them both to stop. He looked at her in question. Ino finally pulled her courage and looked straight at him as she asked. "How'd you and Hinata get to be the way you are? I mean," She continued at his unmoved gaze. "You guys were just friends from the beginning, right?"

Naruto's face split into another wide smile as he shook his head. "I thought I was the only dense one around here. It must be the blonde factor." He pointed to his own head and Ino glared at him. "Yeah, we didn't start going out until about two or three years ago, but when we did, she confessed she'd liked me since we were twelve, actually before that I think." He pulled a thoughtful pose.

She gaped a second. "But... to you, you guys were just friends till you went out. So how'd you just jump from friends to dating?"

He stared at her strangely. "Well... yeah it might have been a little strange at first. For me because I hadn't ever thought of her that way. And for her because... I guess she didn't think I'd ever see her that way either." Naruto gave her a suspicious look. "Why are you asking?"

"No reason! Just wondering how your story went, that's all." She replied, jumping on the defensive. Ino looked down a second. "So what if it hadn't gone that way so early on in life... What if... you guys started going out when you were older, say around this time?"

"I guess... it'd be harder or something." He tried to answer, then turned to look at her again. "That was random. Really, why are you asking?"

Ino sighed and began trudging along again, barely giving Naruto any warning to follow. "Because..." She said through gritted teeth. "I think Shikamaru's been hitting on me. Not to say I've tried to deter his attempts. I even flirted back with him. Stupid, stupid, stupid." She really wanted to bang her head somewhere now.

She couldn't see it, but Naruto was grinning in a sly manner. "Oh..." He paused, making her turn to him. "So what're you doing about it now?"

She glared at him, because he was still grinning at her. "He propositioned me." She sniffed, turning away.

Naruto's jaw dropped.

"It was a joke." She said quickly. "I think."

"Shikamaru wanted to have _sex_ with you?" He asked in disbelief.

"Hey! Are you implying something?" She asked with narrowed eyes.

"No, it's just... that's a pretty big jump." He stated.

Ino sighed again for the billionth time. "Well... we were kinda flirting the other night and it led to that, but that time it was really a joke. Then yesterday I'm not really sure. It's not like I don't have any experience in the matter." She said in a slightly confident voice. Nothing was said. Then, "Do you?"

Naruto jumped at the unexpected question. "Uh..." His hand immediately went to scratch an unknown itch behind his head, followed by a nervous laugh. "Eh... I do-"

Ino stopped in her tracks and rolled on her heel to stare at him in surprise. "What?" She asked. "You, Uzumaki Naruto, has had-"

She was cut off when Naruto dove forward and slapped a hand over her mouth. "The whole village doesn't need to know!" He said with a glare.

Ino nodded before he slowly removed his hand and backed off. "So... was this with Hinata?" She whispered, looking around.

He shoved his hands in his pockets and shook his head. Once again, Ino gaped in shock.

"Then who did you-"

His hand clapped her opening shut again. "Could you try not being so loud when you get excited?" He asked irritably.

When his hand was removed again she was still staring. "Who...?" She wondered, trying to keep her voice down.

"Uh... a few people." He answered awkwardly. Then without warning to her this time, he began walking.

Ino jogged up and tried to keep his pace. But of course, she noticed irritably, he _was_ taller and_ did have_ longer legs. "I'm going to regret asking this, but do I know any of them?"

His eyes flickered to her for a moment. "Yeah..."

That was where she drew the line. Ino definitely did _not_ want to know who it was he had ever been involved with. A thought came to her. "Does Hinata know about these things? Have you and her even done anything?"

"Of course she knows, but she didn't really care to know who either. And we haven't done anything beyond making out."

Ino looked proud. "Way to stay in control and hold back those hormones Naruto!" She gave him a harsh pat on the back.

He glared at her cheery face. "Shut up." He mumbled. "How about we get back to your problems with-"

"How about we not?" She shot back without letting him finish. "Besides it's too weird to think about. Me and Shikamaru have been friends forever."

Naruto shrugged. "Okay, but sometimes things change."

She turned to stare at him as she thought this over.

**xoxo**

The lazy ninja slowly walked to his usual destination, hands stuffed in his pockets. The forehead protector covering one eye was something he'd grown accustomed to, and his _eye_ was even sharper from hardly using the other.

But today, he didn't seem to notice much around him. Actually, he was pretty laid back so it always seemed he didn't notice anything.

Kakashi strolled along in his relaxed manner, on his way to see the Godaime and other jounins, his normal routine. He paused briefly, looking up unexpectedly at a wall on his left. He shrugged, obviously doubting his senses.

"Hello Ojii-san." Kakashi said, stopping in at his normal morning breakfast spot. The old man looked up at him with a smile.

"Still late as usual, eh?" He asked, eyes wrinkling at the corners.

The other only shrugged, not taking his hands out of his pockets. "Only an hour or so."

"So, what'll you have today? Breakfast is the most important meal of the day." He stated.

The masked ninja chuckled. "If I didn't know you said that to bring in business I might think so."

"I see you don't have your nose in that novel of yours still. Have you finished with that type of reading material altogether?" He questioned, preparing Kakashi's to-go food as they talked. True he never placed an order but it was predictable, seeing the mood he was in.

"Funny you should mention that." Kakashi finally removed a hand from its resting place to scratch lightly at his chin through the mask. "My latest edition is missing. Have you seen it around?"

The man paused in his task, looking up in thought at the small, wooden roof of the stand. Something clicked in his head and he recalled an earlier day when the jounin had been walking around with his nose in the said book. It had an orange cover and... well there was the predictable title. But now that he was really deep in searching through his memory, he remembered he needed to get a birthday present for his niece.

Anyway, besides that there was something else... Yes, he had seen that familiar book somewhere else, in someone else's possession...

And that was the moment where a smell reached him that made the old man jump in surprise and curse loudly. "Ah, no no!" He said to himself, trying to scrape the food off the pan before it was burned into an _inedible_ as well as unappetizing pile of... stuff. He turned up to the awaiting customer. "Ah, so sorry about that, I guess I'll just have to make another batch." He said, realizing he'd forgotten the secret ingredient anyhow.

So he started over as Kakashi nodded, not minding one bit. The later he was, the better, no problem.

It didn't take too long, and the old man was able to give him the slip, smiling as he wave goodbye to a very loyal customer.

The spiky-haired ninja waved back casually as he left, holding his breakfast in a container, intending to eat it when he reached the office building.

He paused, taking a slower step, looking up at a tree to his left before shrugging it off once more and returning to his normal pace.

Anko breathed a sigh of relief and glanced down at the spot he had just been. "Now I have some time to get things prepared."

**xoxo**

She was finally free. For now. Of his grasp that is. Of course Sasuke wasn't going to hold her there against her will. Sakura had held herself there, unsure of what to do.

It took an hour of lying there with a blank mind before she decided she needed to take a walk. He hadn't made any protest. He only stared at her silently with that unflinching gaze. Which only made her flinch as she quietly slipped on some clothes before walking out the door.

Now she was parading around town with bedridden hair in a pair of sweatpants and hoodie sweater, looking what she thought had to be atrocious. And she had no idea where the hell she was headed.

Hugging herself tightly out of her lack of self-confidence in her appearance, Sakura looked over the field of green before making her way across. But not paying attention to where she was going, she naturally found herself tripping over something and stumbling to the ground, rolling a few feet away.

It moaned. "Uhh... what the..." He said to himself, rubbing his head that had been toppled over. Shikamaru sat up and looked around to see the pink-haired girl on her hands and knees, rubbing her eyes clear of the stars from her fall. "Sakura?" He questioned.

She looked up after a few more blinks and stared for a second. Then she turned over, now sitting on her butt with her knees in the air. "Hey Shikamaru. What're you doing out here?"

"Being road kill, I guess." And looked to his left. "But considering how far we are from an actual road..." He shook his head and stopped talking for a moment. "Why're you out here?"

"Just going for a walk." She answered lightly, bring her hands up from the ground and wrapping them around her legs. "Sorry about the fall."

The supposed genius cocked an eyebrow at her vague demeanor. "What's going on?" He asked, mimicking her position as he examined her carefully.

Sakura ran a hand through her short, disheveled hair, trying hard not to be vain and yell at him for looking at her in this state. Then she cleared her voice and spoke in a calm way. "I'm thinking I should move out. Of the place Sasuke and I live. We really need to grow up; living together just isn't going to work."

The eyebrow was still raised. "Oh. And... what were his thoughts on this?" He asked, already knowing the answer from the way she was talking.

"He... doesn't want me to leave... him." She said, ending it with a sigh.

"Where's Ino when you need her?" He rolled his eyes.

"I don't think this is something she'd really wanna hear about." At the questioning gaze she continued. "Well, sure she's moved on but... it's still Sasuke. And after wasting so much time on someone, you'll always have bitter feelings about it afterward." She said, her own voice coming out bitter. "At least in my experience..."

Shikamaru stared at her. He wondered, did Ino perhaps feel the same way towards Sasuke and the past she'd had? Did she still have some inkling of feelings for the Uchiha, even if it was just resentment? Then he blinked.

"Okay, so go on and tell me what happened then." He said in a commanding tone. She gave a look that said 'no'. "Hey, you wouldn't have brought it up if you didn't want to talk about it." He said smartly.

She grudgingly agreed to herself, casting her eyes to the ground beneath her. "Well... like I said, I want to move out. But he won't let go. I guess he's just gotten so used to living with someone and-" She stopped short at the pointed look he was giving her. "What?"

"You know that can't be it." Shikamaru stated with a serious face. "Well, okay, yeah. Maybe he did get used to the feeling of being around someone so often and always having that person there, but he could easily slide back into being independent from everyone."

"I doubt that. He seems more like a lonely little girl nowadays. Always needs me there to take care of him, watch out for him even though he doesn't care and doesn't need it, just so the other side of the bed doesn't get cold." Sakura retorted.

"Why? He ever try to roll over on your side of the bed?" His eyebrow was doing that thing again. Where it was implying something with his question.

Sakura stared. "No. He's not a pervert. He's doesn't need such physical gratification." She answered. Then glanced away and muttered, "Right. Sasuke wanting to have sex?"

The two looked up quick enough, wondering about the alternative universe in which, at the moment she'd said that Sasuke would appear over their heads with an answer. Luckily this wasn't that world. The conversation commenced.

When he didn't say anything like she expected she became suspicious. "What is it?"

He turned to her with a slight grin. "It's just kind of funny, that's all." A pause. "After all the years you spend wanting him, and when you finally have a chance you won't even consider it?" Shikamaru shrugged. "Just funny. To me anyway."

Sakura found the courage to glare at him, after her shock wore off a little. "Hey, don't compare me to the way I was as a genin. We've all changed. And I haven't been like that about him for over three years. And I am _not_ going back to it either." She added with an assured nod.

"Right. So you won't go crawling or begging back to him. But he's the one doing it now? This really makes no sense." He muttered, looking away for a second. "Girls are so troublesome."

"He doesn't want me." She sniffed indignantly. "In fact, he has no idea what he really wants. But I know for sure I'm not in that category."

He was staring again. "Stop being so stupid. For an apprentice of the Godaime's, you sure are-" He was stopped when he felt something lightly tap his forehead. He looked down to see a small rock at his feet. "Ha-ha." He said, giving her a look.

"Yeah well, I don't see you doing too well in that department either. When was the last time you went on a date anyway?" Sakura shot at him, moving her arms to rest atop her knees.

"Yesterday." He answered without thinking. He blinked. So did Sakura, still sitting a few feet away. "I... Sorry, I was thinking of something else." Shikamaru glanced away, cursing himself. He moved his hands to rest flat on the ground behind him and spread his legs out on the grass.

"No you're not." She said in a daze. "You were on a date yesterday? With who?" She was suddenly very excited to know the details. Although she and Shikamaru weren't very close friends they had had a number of missions together and become fond of each in a friendly way. She had just never had the chance to bond with him one on one like this before.

The spiky-haired shinobi stared at her for a few seconds before sighing and shaking his head. "Whatever, Ino would probably tell you anyway. Yesterday we-"

"You and Ino?!" She couldn't contain her excitement and soon found herself leaning forward a bit.

"It wasn't really a date or anything." He said, looking irritated. "We just went out to a movie, which we didn't see, and had a late lunch. Then went back to my place and-" This time he stopped of his own accord at the horrified look on Sakura's face. "We didn't do anything!" He shouted at her assumption. "Geez, it's like you expect her to sleep around. Ino's not a slut."

She rolled her eyes off to the side, not replying.

Shikamaru stared in surprise. "What are you saying?" He asked, conveniently leaving out that she had never actually _said_ anything. "Ino doesn't sleep with every guy she goes out with." His face was suddenly skeptical. "Right?"

"Well not every guy obviously. She does have standards." Sakura rolled her eyes, trying to lighten the blow. "But weren't we discussing your date with her?"

He let her change the subject, and shrugged. "Wasn't a date." It sounded careless. "But I think I freaked her out. She ran out after I implied we should have sex."

"I wanna bang my head on the ground now. No wait, I wanna bang _your_ head against a _tree!_ What the hell were you-" She stopped abruptly, and his eyes narrowed, gaze hitting the floor before looking behind to make sure no one was there. In their alternate universe, Ino would be standing there already ready to say something. Once again, this isn't that world. Lucky.

"Stop doing that." He grumbled, moving his hands front of him and leaned forward to keep his balance. "And why don't you worry more about your problems with Sasuke."

"We don't have any problems." She protested.

"You can barely say his name out loud. I think that says something." He gave her an arrogant grin. "How about I give you advice and you give me advice. And we'll have to follow through with it. I mean, what harm could come when we both don't know what to do now?"

"Famous last words." She mumbled before looking and nodding. "Go ahead; you are the genius after all."

"Go back home and spend more time with him. And actually _talk_ to him. I don't think 'Hey I'm leaving Sasuke' 'No Sakura' count as a real conversation." Sakura smiled when he changed his voice to imitate herself and Sasuke.

Then she frowned. "Yeah okay, you try doing that while being locked in bed by his weight on your body." She saw Shikamaru shudder ridiculously and laughed out loud.

He shook his head from the disconcerting imagery. "So where's my counseling?"

"Um..." Sakura looked up, putting a finger to her lip in thought. "Okay. How about... you stop trying to get into my best friend's pants." She said, looking back at him.

"It was a joke!" He held his hands up.

"I think that..." She sighed. "Wow... just trying to image you two together like that... Are you sure you wanna be with Ino? The bossy blonde who has obviously flirted her way up your system?" He changed color slightly at this. "I think you're moving too fast."

"And you're going too slow." He shot back, barely letting her finish. At her confused look he continued. "With Sasuke I mean. From the way I see it, you two have really been... just waiting for each other. And now you're so close to finally aligning the right way so you fit..."

"Am I a puzzle piece now?" She questioned with a deadpanned look. "Can I go on now? You keep interrupting." He huffed but didn't speak. "Right... I think you're jumping on her too quick," A sly look. "And not that way. But she needs time to get over being one of your best friends and start seeing you the other way." Another look. "And I don't mean naked."

"Aren't you just full of innuendos today?" He said grumpily. Then caught her gaze with a gleam in his eye. "How long has it been for you anyway?"

Sakura was taken-aback, by what she knew the question meant. "W-what?"

"I mean, I know you can't do much with Sasuke around all the time and your jobs around the village. So when was the last time?"

She started turning as pink as her hair. A long silence followed and he still waited for an answer. Finally, through exasperated lips, "Over two years. Since before he came back."

Shikamaru was suddenly getting up off the grass, brushing off his clothes. Sakura followed, standing up and staring. He abruptly patted her on the back a few times. "Well, better get home and start making up with him, huh? Not only can you get laid, but it might help start rebuilding that clan of his, right?"

He dodged the fist aimed at his face and blocked the kick as well. Still holding onto her leg, which was near his face he smirked. "I guess I'll see you around, whether or not things work out for us." He let go and turned to leave.

Sakura glared at the back of his head after putting her foot back on the ground. Spotting something out of the corner of her eye, she picked it up and threw it with all the emotion she had.

"OW!"

And smirked triumphantly.

**xoxo**

After their day's earlier events, the two went about trying to clean up the infinite mess that Tenten had made two days prior. They had lounged around in-between, taking "breaks" from all the work. Occasionally Neji would turn to Tenten with a glare, because she _was_ the one to go berserk and empty every single space in her house and dumped it in the middle of rooms and hallways. And this she would always ignore with a flirtatious wink or sly lick of the lips, apparently still putting on a show for the invisible intruder.

Other than that there was no mention of Tenten's "wondrous" plan for the rest of the day. So far anyway.

Neji was currently in the bathroom, cleaning up the mess that his friend had made in her attempts at a shower, because she had let the floor get wet with water. And Tenten saw this as an opportunity for a breather... and to try and prove to herself that her plan had worked.

So when she heard him mopping up with the door only slightly ajar she quietly stalked to the front door of her house. She stared at the many bolts and locks and cursed herself. It would be too noisy to open.

And as if someone was trying to help her out, she heard the faucet from the lavatory turn on all the way. But she did have to wonder if the stalker had come in, somehow defeated Neji and was now attempting to drown him.

The kunoichi shook off these thoughts and swiftly moved open all the snatches and twisted all the locks, finally letting her hands rest on the doorknob. She took a deep sigh before slowly pulling it open.

Then proceeded to look around cautiously. She spotted no one lurking around the neighborhood, let alone a suspicious character hiding behind hedges. Then, at an agonizingly, and slightly painful pace, she looked down to the doormat and stared.

There lay a big, brown envelope that obviously held more than a few pictures. It was sealed tight with tape and had her name, also taped on, because it had been printed out from a computer or something.

Tenten didn't bother hesitating as she bent down to pick it up and stepped back into the house, putting all the locks and bolts back into place, hoping Neji hadn't realized it yet.

Instead of getting freaked out she walked to the couch while staring at the envelope in her hands. "Hey Neji?" She called without looking up.

"Hm?" He replied, just loud enough for her to catch.

"How much longer are you gonna be?" She asked, taking a seat on the sofa, still staring at the package.

He grunted. "What? Miss me already?"

To that she didn't even bother responding. But he probably still heard her indignant 'hmph!' through the walls.

Without worrying over her current roommate, Tenten opened the envelope and pulled out something. She raised an eyebrow at it and turned it over. Blank. No clue at all.

She shrugged, got up and popped the tape into the VCR beneath her t.v. Then sat back down, brought her remote control up and pressed 'play' after taking a long, deep sigh.

For a moment she worried about the sound on the tape, but soon realized it had all been edited out. There wasn't any sound at all... until some slow song with unintelligible words began ringing through the room in soft tones.

Tenten stared around for a second, bewildered. The screen was still blank though. Then, in black and white at first (obviously a visual effect), the scene came up...

She gasped silently and sat back in her seat, staring at the screen.

It was from yesterday, the scene on the tape. It was...

Suddenly Tenten's eyes widened and her face turned red, before quickly going pale.

On the t.v. Tenten rushed over to her friend and was on top of him in a second. Her face was hidden in his shoulder and her shoulders were moving an awful lot...

Next, present day Tenten watched all this happening before her eyes, absolutely mortified. She vaguely realized that from the angle of the footage, the person had been looking through one of her windows.

What came next was the absolute worst.

The editing with the music was one thing, but now this... this was horrific.

There were... subtitles. It was like some twisted little silent film.

Tenten grabbed the remote control from the coffee table where she had deposited it and rewound, because she had missed some of the subtitles in her stupor.

On the screen, Tenten once again (as present day Tenten cringed) ran over and jumped on Neji. Then her shoulders shook, in silence, as she cried on his shoulder and Neji awkwardly looked around with no idea what to do.

But then slowly he moved his hands to her back. Then the first subtitle came on.

_'I've missed you.'_ It went. And from the way the scene looked, it was implied that Tenten was the one speaking.

Then followed by some silence, as Neji began moving his hands on her back and she started to calm down. And this time, when the second set of subtitles came on, Neji's mouth was moving, although he was saying something different entirely, she knew.

_'I miss you too.'_ Was what _he_ said. '_I'm sorry. For being such a jerk. I don't mean to be so uptight. And I didn't mean to hurt you with the stupid things I do or say.'_

At this point Tenten, sitting on the couch, couldn't help but crack a smile at this very un-Neji-like behavior. But then it was her turn, as Neji's lips stopped moving, and she even noticed when she flinched at her _real_ words.

_'Nothing's ever just one person's fault.'_ At this, present Tenten also flinched. _'Neji, I-'_

The sentence stopped short, appearing as if he'd cut her off. _Neji_ was speaking again.

_'I think I'm in love with you.'_

Tenten stopped breathing.

On the t.v. she mumbled something... _'No you're not.'_

"No I'm not." He looked up at her with a raised eyebrow as she shot up from the couch, fumbling with the remote, finally turning off the t.v. and letting the tape pop out of the VCR.

"Uh, when did you- Are you done? Isn't it time you got home? I'm sure your mother is missing you or something." She mumbled nervously with a fixed smile.

He was still staring at her in a queer manner. "What were you watching?"

As he reached over to pull out the tape, she jumped over the coffee table and was suddenly in front of him, causing him to pull back his hand in alarm. "So the bathroom's all cleaned then?" She tried again.

Neji pulled his hand back completely, looking at her. "Yeah. But if you're thinking about another shower with your clothes on I'd disapprove and have to stop you in some way that'd probably turn out to be volatile." He said cautiously with a serious look.

"Uh..." She said, glancing to the side, her hands behind her back, slowly easing the tape out of the electronic device. She sighed and moved it in front of her, staring down as she turned it over in a fidgety manner. "It's from my stalker person or whatever." Tenten said, staring down at it. "Do you mind if I watch it alone?" Then finally looked back up at him.

"Yes." Was his immediate answer. Tenten's face shown with surprise. "As your unofficial bodyguard and pretend boyfriend I think I have a right to watch it too." He folded his arms over his chest.

She stared at him nervously. "But- Well it was addressed to me!" She tried to argue.

Neji walked a few steps, seemingly brushing past her, but he stopped as they were shoulder to shoulder and turned his head to look at her. "Come on Tenten, what could possibly be bad about it considering all that I've already seen?" He gave a small, sly smile and tapped her nose lightly with a finger.

Then he grabbed the tape from her hands and shoved it back into the VCR, grabbing Tenten's arm and dragging her to the couch. She was still slightly dazed, filled with anger and embarrassment and frustration, yet had no idea what to exert first or how.

Luckily for her he didn't bother going back and watching the most embarrassing part all over again. Tenten wasn't sure how long she would last before she imploded, if he had watched it. But then, she had no idea what was to come.

It was too late to try and stop it from happening, as she turned her head to him; he hit the play button on the remote. After _Neji's_ confession on screen, it went black. There was a pause, where Tenten sighed and Neji's brows crinkled together.

And they were both horrified at what was suddenly displayed...

_'I realize now that there is competition, to make you mine Tenten. But I know when I should see someone so deserving. I respectfully bow down to Hyuuga Neji for capturing your heart and wish you the very best in your future Tenten. This is my last and final message.'_

The screen went blank again and the two on the couch were wide-eyed for a moment longer.

Then...

_'To celebrate how wonderful you two will be together I created something for you.'_

A song once again started up in the background, and before the two could process anything images from all over town were being thrown at them. With spectacular visual effects and transitions. It took a few seconds for veins to pop and they realized what it was.

A music video. Dedicated to _them._ And their supposed "relationship".

At the end of the video there was a sorry for the message being on a tape and not a DVD, which went by unnoticed by the two sitting on the sofa, now very aware of the one foot of space between them.

"I was looking at a flower." He blinked.

"I was staring at the sky." She replied.

The two looked at each other blankly. Then turned back to the screen.

"Funny how he edited it just right so it actually _does_ look like we're thinking about or looking at each other or something." Tenten stated as she stared.

Neji continued. "The magic that is technology." He cursed softly. "I'll never understand all that crap though."

"I'm not sure if this is creepier than the others or not." She said again "I don't think it had anything to do with my plan either, but at least this guy is... done with me. What a weird, stupid way to 'make someone yours'." She mumbled.

Another moment of silence passed and Neji still hadn't spoken.

"I think I'm gonna take a shower." Tenten said, getting up.

He blinked and stared at her. Watching until she left the living room, he finally got up to follow her. All the while ignoring the warning in his head and the table leg he nearly tripped over, which had to be a clear sign that _everything_ was preventing him from doing what he was about to do.

But he _just wouldn't listen..._

**xoxo**

The blonde looked around fervently, trying to figure it out. This is the place where she'd usually be, Naruto thought to himself. He glanced up at a few passersby and then started walking again.

It had been days since he'd last seen Hinata and he missed her terribly. And he was also a little afraid to see her now. If he was still a dense twelve year old he wouldn't have noticed, but Hinata was avoiding him.

He'd called her earlier in the morning and had received no reply, even though it was coming around noon now. He'd stopped by her house a few times since yesterday and she was never home and no one knew where she was or when she'd be back. Now he couldn't find her at any of her usual spots.

He thought maybe it had something to do with the engagement, because... well, everything was perfect before he'd proposed. Maybe she'd changed her mind. In fact, maybe she wanted to dump him altogether.

The blonde tried to rationalize all these thoughts, sorting them through his head. He could barely pay attention to where he was walking. He also tried to shrug them off and thought, heading back to her house for a quick check couldn't hurt, and so turned in that direction.

Naruto, now a tall and handsome young man at age eighteen had his head screwed on right. He was an excellent ninja and had dropped some of his older, obnoxious qualities. It seemed like he really was on his way to accomplishing his dream of becoming Hokage.

Around the corner, the Hyuuga mansion loomed overhead, taking up an entire block. Naruto cautiously walked over. Even though most of the Hyuuga family had accepted him into their lives and his relationship with Hinata, he was a little intimidated by them. Coming from such a big, respectable family where as he _had_ no family. That and her father could be scary when he wanted.

He took a deep breath, walking up to the front door and used the knocker on it. It took a minute or two before someone finally answered, he had to wonder how they ever heard anyone coming. Maybe they should upgrade to a doorbell.

He was lucky this time, as it swung open, Hinata's younger sister was standing there with bright eyes.

"Hello Naruto." She said in a quiet voice. Eerily, he was reminded of Hinata.

"Uh hi. I was wondering, is Hina-chan home?" Came his slightly jittery voice. He felt like it was their first date all over again.

Hanabi shook her head. "I'm sorry Naruto; I haven't seen her since morning. She left shortly after waking up." She gave an apologetic look.

"Oh." He stood there with his hands in his pockets, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Uh... did she get my message this morning? That I wanted to see her?" He questioned again.

"Yes, I told her myself. But I think she'd just woken up. Maybe she didn't hear it through the door." The younger Hyuuga responded with kind words, trying to make Naruto feel better. "I'm sorry. When I see her later I'll make sure to tell her you were looking for her.

"Thanks. I'll see you later." He said, smiling in a friendly manner. Naruto turned around, pretending to leave, letting Hanabi take the hint to close the door and leave, which she did. He flinched when the door shut softly.

Where was Hinata? Had he really done something terrible to have her avoid him like this?

Naruto sat down on the steps and let her elbows rest on his legs, putting his face in his hands. He made an aggravated sound and moved his head downward so his hands went through his hair.

He was so down and drowned in his thoughts he almost didn't notice. But he did, and looked up abruptly in surprise. A whisper of a familiar energy had passed through him. He definitely knew who it was, and now that he had a lead there was no time to hesitate.

He quickly jumped up from his seat and into the nearby tree, scanning the area on crouched legs. It wasn't there anymore, he couldn't feel her chakra but concentrating hard enough he could probably tell where she was going.

Naruto didn't look back, only smiled as he prepared to make more leaps and bounds to get her. How fitting.

**xoxo**

Shikamaru knocked on the door once more, putting his ear closer to try and get a hint as to what was going on inside. No luck. But seeing as he had given her fair warning, and perhaps the truth was she wasn't even home at all... he pulled out the spare key Ino had given him, back when she trusted him to be his friend.

He opened the door easily and poked his head inside cautiously. The living room was almost as small as his own, but looked more cozy and lived-in. Same with everything, and being the daughter of a flower shop owner, it was almost beautifully accented.

He began walking inside, looking around carefully and closing the door behind him. Everything was in order, very neat and well-kept. But it didn't look like she was home. There wasn't any sound at all. No sound from the bathroom to say maybe she was in the shower and couldn't have heard him. And there wasn't any music blasting or even being played in soft tones.

Still, and he had no idea why he did it, he ventured further into the seemingly empty house. Past the living room and kitchen, down the small hallway, walking right near the bathroom door to gaze inside and then to stop right before the last place in her house. Ino's bedroom.

Now this was just too perverse for his mind to keep up with. And he still wasn't sure why he was still here, in her house, looking for something... until he slowly pushed open the door and saw Ino sitting on the floor with her legs splitting apart underneath her, fingering her now short hair and staring mindlessly into a mirror.

The skilled shinobi and overall brilliantly minded boy had no idea what to do as he looked at his friend in surprise.

Ino had yet to notice he was standing behind her, but then again it seemed as though she could care less... about anything else at the moment. She held the mirror in her left hand, twisting at the ends of her hair, her hair that now was barely past her shoulders and occasionally turned her head from side to side to stare at it.

A pair of scissors, along with every strand she'd cut off lay in front of her. Her expression kept changing from awe to surprise to looking dismayed at her spontaneous decision.

"Hey..." He started off, his voice sounding jerky and irregular. "Ino..."

Finally she blinked as if someone had shaken her awake and turned to look at him over her shoulder. By then Shikamaru had come down on one knee behind her, and had been on the verge of tapping her lightly, but pulled back when she turned to him with an unreadable gaze.

"What're you doing here? How'd you get... in..." She slowed her speech when her mind started to catch up.

He tried to pretend things were normal, and so raised an eyebrow with his question. "Need a hand?" He asked, offering his own.

Ino glared. "Why are you here? I'm pretty sure there's nothing that I owe you here." She responded, turning back and getting up herself.

Shikamaru stood up along with her. He shrugged. "I came to talk to you." Was his response.

The blonde stared, then closed her eyes and tried to calm down. It may have been easier for Naruto and Hinata because they didn't get on each other's nerves half the time with stupid little fights and jokes. And when she'd first seen Shikamaru in her house she immediately jumped to the conclusion he was hoping to get _something_ from her.

Which was a dumb thing to think. It was _Shikamaru_ for god's sake.

She reopened her eyes to give him a strange look and walked past him, heading to the bathroom. He followed her in a casual manner, stuffing his hands into his pockets, knowing she really didn't care. The male shinobi leaned against the doorway as Ino stood in the bathroom, examining her face and brushing off hair that had fallen onto her shoulders and clothes, not once looking to her newly acquired haircut.

"What happened?" He asked again.

She didn't bother answering that. Or turning to look at him. "What'd you wanna talk about?" And managing to keep her voice even, Ino turned to look at him after enough stalling.

Looking at her fully, with her haircut was something new to Shikamaru and he stared at her a few seconds longer before saying anything. Of course this in turn only unnerved her. So Ino once again walked right by him on her exit of the lavatory, instead of standing there and fidgeting like mad.

Shikamaru turned around to follow again. "About yesterday." He trailed her to the living room, where she pretended to rearrange magazines and other trivial things. "You ran away pretty quick. Did anything I say offend you or something?" He started off, not mentioning the specifics.

Ino turned to him with a look, still bent over the coffee table. "No, I just needed to get on with my errands and things. Isn't that what I said?" She unconsciously reached up to tug lightly at her hair, and then stood up straight.

"Why'd you cut your hair?" He questioned suddenly, motioning to her.

Still pulling at it, this time a bit more harshly, and stared. "I just felt like a change." She was tempted to keep on with this train of thought and ask if it looked bad or something.

He shrugged. "So? Maybe I felt that way too."

Her face only displayed confusion. "From what?"

His look said 'you've got to be kidding'.

She stared a bit longer, letting the silence stretch and by now he was annoyed. Ino turned away and took a seat on the sofa behind her. She looked down at her hands in her lap. "You know, I don't mind my hair being short again. It's nice, isn't it? I do like it... Or at least I know I will once I get used to it." She looked up at him, just as he made steps to come sit next to her.

Unfortunately he managed to completely miss the point as he sat down with a questionable face.

She sighed. "What are you doing Shikamaru?"

He winced slightly at her use of his full first name.

"You're trying to turn us into something we're not. I don't think I can go down that path with you."

The Nara's face was stern. "Why? And what makes you think I'm going to force you to do anything?"

She shook her head. "But that look on your face does. It says something. It says," She started out, in a dreamy voice, looking upwards. "That if I don't even try you'll always remember this, and be bitter about it. You'll always wonder what could've happened if I had accepted."

"Won't you?" He questioned, staring at her with emotion. "Don't tell me you'd forget about it as quickly as your last meal."

The blonde was taken-aback. "I didn't mean it like that. But..." Her fingers wound their way back into her hair, twisting and twirling at the ends. She glanced down at them for a second before looking back to him. "This isn't like my haircut. It's not something that's so small. And when my hair grows back things will be like it never happened. But if things happen between us and we realize it can't work... things can't just go back like nothing happened. You are one of my best friends Shika-"

"Spare me." He replied with a cold voice, staring down at the floor between his knees.

"You're doing it already." Was her small voice. "Getting angry at me when I haven't done anything yet."

He chose not to respond.

"I'm sorry." She said suddenly. Her hand let go of her own hair and moved toward his own, running it through his messy flop of hair. "It's my fault, right? It seemed like I was making advances because I flirted with you and-"

"Since when do you think so much?" He asked, turning sideways to look at her.

Ino glared at him briefly. "Why do you have to be such a jerk sometimes?"

His smile was wide. "You look funny mad." Then ducked his head back to looking at the floor, expression unmoved.

She blinked warily at him. "Are you on some kind medication you've forgotten to take?" After a bit more staring, "Were you really expecting me to have sex with you the other day?"

Shikamaru sat back fully into the sofa, looking at her blankly. Then a smirk came. "They weren't _mine._" Was his reply.

"..." She stared. "I don't get it, what?" She shook her head.

He shrugged. "A friend of mine dropped it. She was in a hurry to get somewhere and I couldn't catch up to give it back."

Finally her brain started to catch up, albeit a little too slowly. At the store, strange guy trying to hit on her, the... yeah, and running into Shika just outside, running off in a blur. Did she drop something? Did she? She hadn't even checked as she got home.

Ino looked up at him with shock written all over her, her mouth gaping open. "You think I-" He nodded curtly before she finished, not that she wanted to.

She stared a moment longer, hands resting flat on her thighs. It took another moment for her to regain her wits.

"You- You're mistaken." She began, trying to shuffle around and show her composure. A sigh escaped her parted lips. "Fine. Maybe they were mine." And slouched in her seat, staring at the t.v. that wasn't on. "The guy at the store gave them to me for free... apparently assuming I was going out to 'get some action' or whatever you guys call it." She tried to roll her eyes without feeling self-conscious.

Of course her best friend was still skeptical of this, not believing her.

"I think you need to leave." She said with a glare.

Shikamaru didn't protest, but made a show of getting up, bringing his face awfully close to hers as he did so and even pausing a bit. "Doesn't mean I'm done." He murmured for her to hear.

**xoxo**

It would take an absolutely stupid person to not realize what was happening. Otherwise the person had to be very relaxed and nonchalant about the whole thing.

Either way, as Anko silently stalked Kakashi, making sure he finished every bite of his meal she was very cautious about it. Once he arrived at the building where, something he hardly took part in, work was done and to meet the Godaime and get some specifics on his next mission, she gave up the façade and pretended to also be heading in to fill out some paperwork, being careful to stay away from him.

She walked around and tried to look busy in front of her co-workers while keeping one eye open to spot his spiky, silver hair walk down a hallway or across the lobby.

He didn't seem to notice her at all, too preoccupied with navigating through a room and giving small greetings to his fellow comrades.

After an hour of wandering around and trying to keep him in sight, Anko took a wrong turn somewhere in the big building. By the time she reached a window, she could see Kakashi outside, just leaving.

She cursed herself for being so inattentive. And it looked like the only way to catch up with him would be heading down right now, seeing as she was two stories up.

Luckily, the only person present in the room was heading out as he read some papers he was holding. And besides, she told herself, they were ninja. She could always just say she was trying to keep her skills sharp, she thought, opening the window and cautiously heading out.

But she did manage to hit her head on the window when trying to duck under it, and barely caught her balance on the ledge.

'Geez, the things I do...' She gritted her teeth, making a leap to a nearby rooftop successfully.

Meanwhile, Kakashi was enjoying his almost afternoon walk back home. He had been grateful when he learned his mission had been postponed to later in the month.

Although he had the sneaking suspicion that something today just wasn't right, he was too well off to give in to his paranoid mind. And today was so peaceful looking; he might as well head home and take a nap or something.

The shinobi looked up at the sky with a dazed face, more so than usual that is. In no time he was passing right by his usual breakfast stand, waving cheerfully, a little too cheerful, at the owner who could only grin mischievously.

He thought he spotted someone familiar out of the corner of his eye, but shook it off. In a village as small as this it was natural to recognize every person you passed. Although his eyelids _were_ getting a bit heavy.

'Really need that nap.' He thought, his walk becoming slower, steps a little off sync.

Although the walk did take longer than necessary, for both Kakashi and his stalker, they did finally make it down the familiar stretch of road, leading to the one house Anko was so anxious to get into. Especially after being ambushed in her own home a few days ago.

It was time for some pay back.

He may have been a little disoriented from being drugged, even though he had yet to realize it, but Kakashi's senses were still at their best. Even Anko knew this, so she decided to just hang around the neighborhood for a bit until she was sure he was asleep. It wouldn't take too long, was all she hoped.

She gave up on that idea after fifteen minutes. She decided it really didn't matter whether he would notice or sense her presence because he'd be too doped up to resist.

And this was the reason she was striding down the block recklessly and without a care in the world. In fact, she whistled a random tune, folded her arms and looked around carelessly before finally reaching Kakashi's place, just another small, apartment-looking house.

But maybe getting inside his house would be a problem. In five minutes however, she found the back door unlocked. Apparently he was very confident in his abilities as a ninja. Or he'd just forgotten about it.

His house was boring and so neat and organized, it seemed like no one lived there at all. There were no personal items lying around, or picture frames on tables or shelves.

Anko tip-toed her way through the kitchen, down a hallway and stairs leading to the second floor. She admired how spacious his place actually was.

When she didn't find him making tea or something in the kitchen she'd assumed he'd gone upstairs to his room to pass out since there was no sound at all echoing through the big house. But upon reaching the living room she froze.

On a three-person sofa, half strewn across it was Kakashi, at his worst. What surprised her most were the partially open eyes staring up dazedly at the ceiling, his forehead protector on the coffee table.

'Oh shit.' Was the only thought running through her head. Carrying out this plan was a lot more difficult than it seemed. A creaking sound was made when she took a small, light step back.

A pair of mismatched eyes slid down to land on her shocked face. Other than this, he made no sign of acknowledgement.

Anko stared at him a few minutes longer. Then mentally hit herself. Just get started, she thought silently, moving in.

Kakashi lifted his head up slightly. Or at least he hoped he did. Every part of his body felt like lead. He watched blearily as a figure honed in on him, but he shrugged it off, turned away and went right to sleep, the person still advancing, now with a predatory gleam in her eyes.

**xoxo**

It would look awfully stupid to be jumping around in the shadows of trees once she got to the more populated areas of town. So when Hinata could feel she was a good enough distance away she stopped abruptly, jumping from a few more roof tops and trees before landing on the ground.

She still couldn't help glancing back with an extremely worried look on her face. Then turned back to where she was heading to... or where she was coming from. Already she was getting a few strange looks, while a few others greeted her with smiles and mentioned her engagement.

To which she rolled her eyes away in irritation. Apparently the news of her and Naruto, even though almost a week had passed, was following her around like-

The Hyuuga looked up suddenly, darting her eyes around. She tried to shake the feeling and found herself heading into a shop to occupy her mind.

This is ridiculous, was the only thing coming to mind. Running away from him? How far would she go with this before facing him? Until she figured out what to do? That could take days! And it already seemed he was impatient about seeing her.

Hinata stopped and turned to stare at herself in a mirror on the wall.

What happened to being so happy she could hardly be away from him? What happened to that feeling? Wasn't she in love?

That seemed like a dumb question. She nodded to herself as she rummaged through a rack of clothes, pretending to look for her size.

Furthermore, she had no idea what she was supposed to be deciding on. Whether or not to marry Naruto anymore?

Really, she was only making things _seem_ complicated. What was wrong with her? Had her friends really figured her out or had they misinterpreted her? But then what was her reason for seeking out heart-to-heart talks with Neji, her sensei and best friends like she was on her deathbed?

Of course with all this thinking and worrying, it was completely unexpected when a hand swept across from one shoulder to land on the next. She jumped lightly and looked up abruptly, fearing what was behind her.

"H-how did you-" She tried to start, her hands still clutching tightly onto the piece of clothing in front of her, already knowing who it was.

He sighed behind her, leaning over the same shoulder and pushing her long, dark hair to the opposite side. "I had to conceal my presence and chakra and everything. Do you know how annoying that is? It's so exhausting too." He whined.

Hinata carefully turned her head to look at Naruto's face, now with his chin resting on her right shoulder. She stared at him wide-eyed for a moment, her right hand unconsciously letting go of a shirt and moving to rest in his bright blonde hair.

She blinked a few times as she looked at his pout face and realized how much she'd missed him. Naruto blinked at her. Hinata moved to turn around but he suddenly caught her off guard.

Just as she completed the 180° turn, his arms were around her waist and hoisting her into the air. Hinata was so taken by surprise, she found it instinctive to wrap her legs around his waist for support, and grab his neck.

Naruto however didn't waste any time, and even as he was staring up at her with his neck craned back slightly, he steered his way through the shop and past a red curtain, leading them into the empty dressing room. Hinata was looking down at him the whole time. That is, until her back was slammed into a wall, causing her to wince and gasp, breaking eye contact and arching her body.

Naruto was sure to keep his eyes locked on her face, whether or not she was looking at him, barely acknowledging his mistake.

The Hyuuga heiress stared up at the ceiling, blinking away tears from the abrupt pain, with her back still perfectly arched. After the overwhelming series of emotion and pain subsided, she still wasn't sure who was supposed to speak first.

"Why are you staring at me?" Hinata finally questioned, blinking at the ceiling.

"Can't help it. I was starting to wonder if you'd disappeared or been kidnapped or something." He stated, his voice not too friendly.

"So?" Was the only thing she could come up with.

"So," He replied slowly. "I haven't seen you for days. Is there a problem with wanting to see my fiancée?"

At the mention, Hinata couldn't help looking down at him with a half glare. Which was about the same time Naruto let a hand slip under her thigh and brought his lips to her neck in a kiss that slowly started to calm her down.

"What are you doing? I thought you were mad." She said with a wary tone.

"If I was mad I'd probably scare you away for another week." He replied, nuzzling into her neck. "Can we just make up now? And go home and forget I ever had to corner you into speaking to me."

"I missed you Naruto." She replied, leaning forward and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Then where were you all that time?" Naruto moved his head back, letting her untangle herself, so he could look at her. "Maybe it's just me, but it seemed like you were avoiding me." He said with a comically suspicious look.

"Naruto, we need to talk." Hinata said, suddenly putting on her best serious expression.

Naruto stared back blankly, while mentally trying to prepare himself for the worst.

"That would mean you should put me down." She said again, this time raising an eyebrow and moving her hands from his neck to rest on his shoulders.

"But what if you try running away?" He asked back.

"You'll probably catch me in no time." She responded knowingly. "And you know where I live... so..."

He moved his hands to her sides instead, and Hinata moved her legs to stand up, also letting go of his shoulders. She slipped out of his grasp and walked a few steps past him, trying to make some distance before turning back around.

"Uh... well first..." Hinata started off, her hands fidgeting behind her back and staring down at her plain, white dress. "I was hanging out with," She winced at her own phrasing, then added, "And talking with Kurenai-sensei." Pause. "And Neji." Pause Two. "And also Shino, Kiba and Akamaru."

Naruto only stared at her from across the small room. He folded his arms and waited for more. Although inside his head he was thinking, oh I'm sure Akamaru had loads to tell you.

Now she brought her hands in front. "Talking with them, it made me realize things. And I..." Hinata stopped, causing her to breathe in a slight gasp as she met his eyes. "I don't... Don't think I can do this."

Naruto blinked. It wasn't as bad as he thought it would feel. He blinked again. In fact, he felt nothing at all. Which was good, because then he could get to the bottom of this.

"So wait... This being... marriage? Or you and me altogether?" He questioned, arms loosening.

Hinata looked at him tearfully. "I don't know!" She burst out hysterically, hating the wimpy way she sounded. "You didn't give me time to think before hunting me down!" The dark-haired girl said accusingly.

"Maybe you shouldn't have run away in the first place! Maybe you shouldn't have been avoiding me at all." Naruto started ranting, walking up to her with his arms in the air as he did so. "Were you really just gonna come to some stupid decision on your own and then tell me whenever? Don't I have a say in this stuff?"

Hinata stared as Naruto began pacing back and forth in front of her.

He stopped again before her. "So you... You don't want to marry me? Is that it? But why? A few days ago we were so happy about the whole thing!"

"Calm down." The Hyuuga heiress tried, placing a hand on his arm. "It's not that Naruto. How could I not want to marry you?" She looked away doubtfully. "But things are more complicated than that."

"Then explain it to me." He said frankly, lifting his arms up in the air.

Her hand dropped away. "I don't know. I'm just..." She turned away for a second before looking at his face again. "I'm just realizing... that love doesn't make everything perfect. My first thoughts were that. Everything looked so perfect."

Naruto was suddenly staring her down with a look in his eyes. Hinata's eyes were flickering back and forth to his while making unnecessary hand gestures as she spoke. She hardly noticed as he began to advance towards her and she followed, without thinking, by taking steps back in an attempt to keep the distance. Even as her back hit the wall, making an abrupt stop, with Naruto closing in.

"But I- I talked with Kurenai-sensei." She said, her hands scratching lightly at the wall behind her. "About Asuma." Naruto just nodded, impassive and stopping only a few inches away, placing his hands flat on the wall next to her shoulders. "And losing him." She said again, voice becoming noticeably softer. "And I realized how afraid I am... of losing you too." She ended.

"But I'm not going anywhere." The blonde stated, using a tone as low as hers.

"You don't know that." Was her response, tearing up again and voice cracking.

Naruto smiled. "This all sounds so cliché." Hinata wanted to hit him. He moved in to leave a kiss on her collarbone that left tingles. "So you've been worrying the whole time?"

"And, well..." Hinata glanced away, remembering what Shino and Kiba had said. "Maybe I'm just... not ready... for marriage. Or maybe marrying me will be a mistake. Maybe we just shouldn't ever get married." She rambled.

"I'm pretty sure people will suspect something when we start having kids." He joked as he placed another light kiss on her neck.

She managed to smile slightly as her cheeks turned pink. "When did I say anything about kids?"

The blonde pulled back to look at her, grinning. "Can't remember, but didn't you just say 'how could I _not_ marry you'? Guess that just solves everything then."

Hinata tried to glare through her still glassy eyes. "You aren't being serious. You aren't even listening." She said accusingly.

"No, I'm just trivializing everything." He responded.

She stared at him a moment longer, then placed her hands on both sides of his face and slowly reached up to lock their lips. She worked at it for a minute, Naruto getting so involved his hands were now at her hips.

Finally she pulled back and rested her forehead against his, only letting her eyes roam the floor. "I love you Naruto. But I don't think I can go through the things my sensei went through. Or have to spend everyday worrying about it happening."

Naruto closed his eyes, still able to catch every word she said. Before disappearing in a puff of smoke to find himself holding a couch pillow. He looked up suddenly and realized he was still in a dressing room at the back of the shop.

He sighed to himself and banged his head against the wall once, twice.

The usually cheerful blonde looked up at the ceiling and had to wonder why women were so difficult.

"Shit." He muttered, tossing the pillow to the nearest couch.

**xoxo**

Although she and Shikamaru had given each other "advice", Sakura was far from accepting it and heading home. Instead she wandered around the village for a bit before decidedly turning in the direction of Ino's house.

She pulled out her key ring and entered her best friend's house without caring whether she was there or not. Casually approaching the living room, the pink-haired girl threw herself on the largest sofa and lay there for a quiet moment.

Soon she heard shuffling as someone walked into the room. Looking up from having her face stuffed in a pillow, Sakura was at a loss for words so she let her mouth hang open as she sat up stiffly.

"_What_ did you _do_?" She finally asked.

Ino stared back blankly, her hand once again tugging at her hair. "Huh?" She answered back dumbly. "I just... felt like a change."

Sakura stared at her best friend as she also sat down on the sofa next to her. "_When_?" She tried again.

"Earlier today." The blonde responded, looking away. "Is it bad?" She turned back, giving in. "You all make it seem like-" She stopped.

"No, it's just been a while since your hair was so short. I guess I just forgot what it looked like." Sakura answered her friend's anxious look.

Ino leaned back into the couch and looked up at the ceiling tiredly. "So why're you here anyway? Shouldn't you be at the hospital or training under the Godaime?" She questioned.

"Ah..." The other started off, looking to the side and also sinking into the cushions. "Taking a day off to reassess some things." She responded.

"That sounds very official. Why? Planning to become ANBU or something?" Ino looked at her out of the corner of her eyes.

"Hey, I ran into Shikamaru a little while ago." Was her next tactful statement.

"Oh..."

"And he mentioned... how things are between you two. What's up? Anything you want to share?" Sakura stared at her friend with a pouty expression, looking very much like a little kid. All she got from Ino was a sigh. "I think it's... well, slightly odd, but mostly good." She continued.

"What are you talking about? There's nothing _there_." Came Ino's clipped tone as she abruptly stood up to walk around the living room.

"Aw, come on. I think it'd be great if you two went out." Sakura sat up straight and followed Ino's movements with her eyes. "You guys have fun together most of the time and when you do fight it's still pretty cute to watch."

"Shika and I don't see each other that way." She refuted.

There was a silence where Sakura gave her a pointed look, which Ino caught. "Actually I think he's starting to see the light. So what's wrong with it?" She paused with a look of disbelief. "Come on, after all the years you've ever known him, you've never once thought about him in a more than platonic way? Not _once_?"

Ino didn't look doubtful at her obvious answer. "Is this what he was telling you? Convincing you that him and I are a perfect match or something?"

"Please. The world doesn't revolve around you Ino. I'm surprised you've gone back to your old way of thinking just cuz of a guy." The pink-haired girl grumbled mockingly and looked away. "For your information Queen Ino, we were discussing my own entangled problems."

The other just blinked in confusion and stopped her pacing. "Your what?" Then laughed to herself. "Problems with what? Medicines and medical treatment? I hardly think Shika's the one to go to for such things."

"..." She paused with a glare on her face, aimed at no one. "I have a social life too you know. Maybe not quite so prominent as _yours_." She shot back. Ino flinched. "Actually..." Her voice faded off as she realized what she might say.

"Are you seeing someone and haven't told me?" Ino questioned, suddenly putting her hands on her hips. "I thought having the best friend title counted for something."

"It's nothing." Sakura grumbled out again, looking less willing to share than before. "I'm not seeing anybody." She sniffed, trying to sound indignant.

Ino laughed again. "_Come on_," She said, throwing the same words back. "When you say social life you clearly meant boy troubles. Really Sakura, how long has it been?"

The glare now being aimed at the blonde could probably melt metal. "Do you two share the same brain or something?" She bit out. "It wasn't about a guy, or sex! It was just Sasuke." Sakura responded, finally giving in.

"What about Sasuke?" Ino questioned cautiously after a moment of silence prevailed.

"Um... I offered to..." Sakura sighed, scratching her arm nervously. "Move out. And he acted like the world was gonna end. So he wants me to stay... But I don't." Sakura looked up to see her friend standing there with a finger to her chin in a thoughtful pose. "What're you... thinking about?"

Ino just laughed it off. "Since when do blondes think?" She tried joking.

"Are you trying to cover something up? Forget that, I know you are. What were you just thinking?" She demanded.

"Well... it's just after everything that's happened, maybe... you and Sasuke were going to be together in the end. Maybe me crushing on him for all that time was pointless." Ino still looked to be in thought.

"Have you been reading romance novels lately or something?" Sakura asked with a deadpanned look. "You've got to be kidding. Me and Sasuke end up together like a perfect, happy little couple? Never."

"What's wrong with trying to be optimistic? This could be your opportunity at being happy! Why don't you just give him a chance, after all those years you spent chasing after him and now you've finally got him?" Ino's voice replied, frustrated.

"Why don't you give Shikamaru a chance? For all the great times you've already had and most likely will have if you'd just be open to the idea." Sakura shot back.

"This is ridiculous! Didn't we proclaim ourselves rivals for everything when we were younger, including love? Now when it's there, neither of us wants the good stuff." The blonde's voice moaned.

Sakura couldn't help grinning, and soon snickering madly.

"What?" A head turned to stare at her.

"Did you just call Shikamaru 'the good stuff'?" She said before laughing all over again.

Ino just scowled and turned away, plopping herself down on another couch. "That's not what I meant! And I was referring to your case, not mine. Because _there's nothing there._" She said slowly, enunciating the last three words carefully.

After she got a hold of her laughter, Sakura turned to her best friend with a smile. "I still don't get it. Why won't you even consider it?" Ino only replied with a glare, casually looking around she went on. "You know, I think you need to grow up a bit and stop holding yourself back when you don't need to."

Hair spinning with her as she suddenly turned to look at Sakura, the blonde stared with wide eyes.

When Sakura realized she wouldn't get any more conversation she slowly peeled herself off the sofa and stood up, stretching a bit. "I guess I'll see you later Ino. No one's going to hold it against you if you don't choose to give it a try." She said with a sympathetic look.

Making her way to the front door, she was halted by her friend's voice coming across, quiet and slow. "What about you... and Sasuke?"

The pink-haired girl half turned. "It's way too late for that." She sighed. "I'm tired. I wanna go home."

**xoxo**

His body moved slowly, suddenly he was on her side, and turned his eyes to stare at the wooden flooring.

Then he sighed and turned in the opposite direction he had come from, rolling over until he was back on his side of the bed and staring upwards. Sasuke spread his arms out of the vast bed, the blanket still somewhat tangled around his legs.

After a minute of restlessness, he turned around and rolled back onto Sakura's side. And repeated the routine.

Sasuke had spent most of his day so far, which wasn't too long, in bed. Waiting.

Sakura hadn't come home yet and he had no idea what to do, and worse, he still had no idea what to say to her when she got back. How to change her mind. What to say, what to say.

It didn't matter! He was no good at these things. Just coming up with the words was easy. Getting them out and trying to sound human was the hard part.

Sasuke continued to roll sideways, back and forth, back and forth on the bed. Waiting.

He groaned to himself, lifting his head backwards to look at the wall, then settled back down.

All this idiotic behavior, combined with the warmer temperature that day had him stripped down to a pair of boxers he wore proudly.

And soon his thoughts were delving into how they came into his possession and the person that came along with it. Nothing perverted, mind you.

Of course it had to be Sakura who got them for him. Just like how she got him almost every piece of clothing he owned. The Uchiha finally sat up in bed, hands in his lap.

Maybe begging for forgiveness and a second chance and trying to persuade her to stay wasn't the way to do it. Maybe he ought to start by taking some action. Like going back to the Godaime and trying to get back into employment.

He sighed, slouching. That was a close call. At least he didn't have to worry about _saying_ anything.

**xoxo**

**I hate** to be the bearer of bad news... but it looks like there will be a fifth chapter. And _hopefully_ that will actually be the last one. This one took forever. But at least I finally got it together and got through to some characters and screwed up a few others, but everything should end well... I think.

Right, just gotta wait till I finish, reread, edit, and then post them. God, that'll take so long it seems... But I doubt the next (last) chapter will be very long. Like this one. For all the chapters of this story so far, this one has broken the record. Wonderful.

Hope you didn't fall asleep or get too bored reading the entire thing. Yeah, it is pretty looong. Oh well, I'm not cutting it, cuz that's the way it goes.

Still don't have a title... that'll come later.

1-18-07

9:39pm

**Uh, sorry again about this. Kinda forgot about this again. Only by opening My Documents and seeing the last two chapters waiting do I remember I need to get this out there soon. Yeah, hope you enjoyed what my strange came up with. Sorry if you didn't.**

**Let's see... word count? Okay, not counting the AN or part at the top... 17.1k. Microsoft Word informs me that this chapter is about 33 pages if you were to print it out...**

**OWWWW.**

**Sorry, stupid thing my friend does. :D**

**11-3-07**

**12:56pm**


	5. Chapter 5

2-7-07

one-shot turned too long fic, couples- Shikamaru/Ino, Neji/Tenten, some Naruto/Hinata and Sakura/Sasuke and a smash of Kakashi/Anko

Summary- Tenten is being stalked and finally takes the chance to ask for Neji's help in the matter, as Kakashi's current volume of Icha Icha Paradise has gone missing and he's come to the conclusion it's been stolen. And Naruto and Hinata have just announced their engagement while Sakura and Sasuke are trying to help each other muddle through life, all the while there's a plot to push Ino and Shikamaru closer together. Life could only be less clear...

**Disclaimer- I do not own Naruto or any of the characters.**

**xoxo**

**Title-Hidden Leaves**

**Chapter 5**

**By-Moon Prynces**

**xoxo**

It was the last thing he expected to see.

"You've gotta be kidding." The blonde muttered as he got closer. "Now this is just sad." He commented louder, for the benefit of his company as he took a seat.

The dark-haired boy groaned in response, holding a cup to his lips. "Are you always coming here?" Sasuke asked back.

"Wasn't my intention. Guess it's just a sick habit now." Naruto grumbled, not looking like his usually please self. He paused to look up at his friend, the scowl still on his features. "Is that alcohol I smell?"

Sasuke flagged the ramen stand owner and requested another mug of saké. Although he received another strange look he didn't care. He picked a mug because it could hold more liquid and effectively thwart suspicion from the everyday-ers.

"Good call." Naruto said after getting his cup and staring down at it for a second before taking a drink.

"What happened? Doesn't your philosophy of _talking_ and being _open_ work at all?" Sasuke bit out.

"Maybe it would if she'd stop running away." Naruto responded with a frustrated voice. Then he eyed his companion. "What about you? I doubt the look on your face says you're happy on the inside and just hiding it carefully."

"Well she listened. And then denounced everything I said, or tried to say." At this point Sasuke sat up straight with a confused look and his inner turmoil showing. "Well mostly I tried to show her-"

"I think you should save the sex for _after_ it works out." The blonde interrupted.

Sasuke glared at him. "Shut up already. In fact, she not only threw away my attempts, but then she said we shouldn't be living together anymore and that she'd move out." Naruto winced. "This is all thanks to your advice. If I had just left it all alone, nothing would've happened."

The former troublemaker shot him an 'are you stupid?' look. "Yeah, nothing. Nothing at all. And you two would probably still be tiptoeing around the big elephant in the room." He said sourly.

"What happened to you then, oh great wizard? And how will you fix your own problems?" He looked up from taking another sip.

"She ran away. She didn't want to talk to me and had been avoiding me for days. There. My life story."

Sasuke raised a brow at the tone being used. He sighed in defeat. "I think I give up." He admitted.

There was a pause as Naruto took a longer sip and stared off into space. "Maybe we should just let them go then." He stated, motioning his hand, still holding the cup. "Maybe it'll go like that stupid saying, if they come back all ends well."

Sasuke snorted. "Now I know you don't really believe that bullshit. It must be the drink."

"Of course I don't believe me!" He shouted, causing a few people to stare.

Neither of them seemed to mind anyway.

He went on, "She painted this vivid picture of how she was too afraid of losing me to go through with anything more. And I still have no idea where that leaves us."

Sasuke nodded as if he knew what Naruto was going through.

"She makes it seem like I'll go on a mission one day and just die." Naruto grumbled, taking another sip.

"That's because you could." Was the smart response, which Sasuke also added with shooting his friend a deadpanned look.

The blonde dropped his arms onto the counter top and sagged in his seat, glaring into the cup. "Shut up." He groaned. "Things are never gonna work out." And with that Naruto slammed his head onto the counter, ignoring the startled sounds from other people and the snort from Sasuke.

It was easy for the owner of Ichiraku to notice that his most frequent customer was getting tipsy and it would be wise to cut Naruto and Sasuke off of the alcohol for the rest of the night.

But it was still early in the evening and there was no end to the kind of troubles the two slightly inebriated teens-coming-into-adulthood could get themselves into.

**xoxo**

Now that she'd had a good amount of rest, which was only due to the fact that her _friend_ had slipped some kind of sleep aid into her lunch, Tenten felt so much better as she woke up around the time the sun was setting.

And now that she was in her right mind she had the sense to be completely astounded and stupefied by her own actions. It was only a matter of time before she died of a heart attack and went to hell. There was also the matter of that sick tape still waiting in her living room.

But the thing that she remembered most... was Neji following her as she walked to the bathroom... and when she turned around to see him standing in the doorway she finally closed the door, locked it and proceeded to strip down.

Now if that wasn't some kind of turning point, she had no idea what was.

Luckily she was currently sitting up in the comfort of her own bed in her own room with the door tightly closed before her eyes. The only problem being that was it was awfully dark now.

Tenten sighed to herself, closing her eyes and trying hard not to freak out at something so stupid. She was definitely ready for some therapy.

She quickly jumped out of bed, trying to fix her clothes even though the effort was futile. There were wrinkles, her shirt was twisted to the left and her pants had practically slipped off. Some things were fixable however, and she sighed.

Then almost tripped over several things in her panic to flick on the light switch. Which had to be the most embarrassing thing she could've done. Because how could a fully trained kunoichi in her rank turn out to be afraid of the dark? That was just plain...

The brunette quietly opened her door and peaked out into the hallway for any sign of Neji. She caught a whiff of some scent coming from down the hall. He was probably cooking something then. Unless something was on fire... but she had to hope for the best as she tiptoed to the bathroom to make herself look a little more presentable.

Of course nothing ever seemed to come easy. And so she spent her time agonizing over the tape and how he must think everything was so stupid and he was probably angry that he wasted his time with her. She even found herself glancing at the few forms of makeup that littered the countertop.

Tenten shook her head and finally opened the bathroom door, and turned on the hallway lights as she reached the living room/kitchenette area. Neji didn't look up as he stood over the stove.

"Hey..." She laughed nervously, heading over to the sofa and not wanting to get in his way. "You don't have to make anything to eat or..." She trailed off as her eyes landed on the tape sitting on the coffee table, as if it were waiting for her.

Neji had yet to answer and she could imagine him being pissed with a stern face on. She felt tired already just thinking about it. And that damn tape was sitting in front of her, taunting her.

"It's nothing." He suddenly responded, causing her to jump out of her skin, nearly falling off the couch. She examined his voice and determined that he had sounded too neutral to tell how angry he was. It only served to freak her out more. "Don't you ever eat somewhere besides the living room?" He questioned, still not turning to look at her.

"The bedroom." Was her immediate response, which was suddenly found to be completely inappropriate. Tenten wanted to hit herself. "I mean, uh..."

"I meant the kitchen table. There is a counter here with stools. They may not look too comfy but..." He trailed off, and Tenten suddenly had the image of him smiling amusedly as he spoke this. Which is what brought her to get up and approach him cautiously.

"Right..." She said back as she got closer. She leaned over the island counter between them and turned her head to try and get a look at his face.

"And I thought maybe you wouldn't want to be in the living room after what happened earlier... But I guess I'm just reminding you of it by saying so." He went on. Neji did glance back after saying this when he felt her looking at him, but the smile she must've imagined was gone by then, that is if he had been smiling at all.

Tenten looked away, trying not to give herself away. "Uh, yeah. How long was I... out for?"

He paused in his task and looked up in thought. "About two hours or something, I think."

"Shit." She whispered to herself. Tenten turned back to him. "What'd you do till then? Were you here the whole time?"

"Well first I tried watching some TV and then I remembered to make a few calls so Tsunade wouldn't kill us when we got back. And I started making us dinner not too long ago." Neji answered. "I guess I'll be done in a few minutes. It's not that great or big or anything."

"Well I'm just glad my kitchen's not on fire." She smiled lightly, trying to keep up a comfortable conversation.

"I think we need to talk." He said, turning around to look at her.

Which he just had to shoot down. "About what?" Tenten questioned as he turned off the stove and placed the plates in front of them. She finally decided to try her luck and sat down on the stool next to her.

He raised an eyebrow with a look. She tried not to wince, cuz yeah, that was a stupid response. They waited until halfway through the meal to try and continue. Neji was sure it would be a bad idea to bring up the topic while she was eating and have her choke on something.

"The stalker... person." He coughed at the inarticulate sentence.

Tenten sighed and poked at the food with her face in a palm. "Uh, yeah." She glanced up briefly. "Thanks for the help. Do you mind if we never speak about this again?"

He managed to frown at her. "That's ridiculous. We have to talk about it now. Or let you spend too much money on therapy."

She mentally snapped her fingers in a 'darn, he's got me' way.

"Why don't you wanna talk about it?" His frown deepened and he stopped moving the fork altogether. "Is it just me or something? You don't wanna talk about it with me?" He asked curiously.

Tenten tried not to look too guilty but she could practically feel his glare of annoyance. Finally she jumped up hysterically shouting, "YES!" They stared at each other a moment.

"But why? We've been friends for such a long time. How's it hard to talk to me all of a sudden?" He said, looking surprised.

"It's always been hard to talk to you, Neji!" She shouted again, throwing her hands up dramatically. He blinked at her. "You're Hyuuga Neji! You're intimidating even when you don't try! And yeah, sure, we've been friends forever but you're hardly emotional when it comes to anything!"

Neji still stared at with the perfectly confused face. "So then... have we not been real friends all those years?"

She made a frustrated sound and attempted to kick the stool resulting in an aching toe. Tenten looked up just in time with a glare. "See! I even feel stupid right now! And all I did was accidentally stub my toe."

"Actually you kicked the-" He started off.

"SEE!" She screamed again, pointing an accusatory finger at him. "You always seem so superior! It's not your fault. I suppose it's just the way you are."

Neji couldn't help but grin at her defeated expression as she thumped her butt on the floor to sit down.

"It's just... Because I'm an idiot, and you're Neji." She tried again. "And now I feel even dumber than before."

She waited, looking down solemnly at the floor as shuffling was heard. Neji kneeled down next to her.

"So... you have some crazy notion that you have to be perfect around me?" He asked slowly, wondering just how fragile she was getting. Of course Tenten didn't bother answering as she tapped her nail on the tiled floor beneath them. "Come on Tenten, I wanna get these things cleared up. You might not think I was a great friend but it wasn't my entire fault. You were the one unwilling yourself to behave a certain way around me." He smirked crookedly and quirked an eyebrow. "And that's really a shame cuz it's pretty cute the way you act so weird sometimes."

Tenten looked up at him with a glare. "I act weird?" Her expression looked deadly.

He did chuckle at her however. "Yeah, so what? Maybe I have a soft spot for strangely hyperactive kunoichi."

Now her face was as blank and her mind was as confused as his had been earlier.

Neji flushed at the look he was getting and stood up quickly. Her hair was still out and wild as ever and she looked pretty innocent, that is if he didn't know she always had at least one weapon on her person at any given moment. Well, except maybe in the shower of course. Her pants barely hung onto her hips while her shirt had obviously shrunk in the wash so that it now showed her midriff.

"Hey, you know I was thinking..." He started off as Tenten also rose to her feet, cheeks tinting and coughing uncomfortably.

She blinked as something dawned on her. "Yeah, you're right!" She grinned wickedly, eager to evade the rest of the previous topic… at least for now. "You wanted to see some more of those tricks I've got right?"

It went without saying that she was elated as Neji grinned at her words, which had to mean he was at least a little interested in her, or just in the physical stuff but at least that meant he wasn't gay like she had almost suspected before this whole ordeal.

As she grabbed his hand and 'dragged' him to the couch, he paused.

"Wait, don't we need some more clarification? Just because I wanna make out with you doesn't say anything." He frowned, not paying attention as he was shoved down onto the sofa.

"But Neji," She blinked innocently. "You were never one to say anything anyway."

He scowled, also not noticing as she swiftly sat in his lap, straddling him. He didn't realize any of it until they were too engulfed in each other's presence. Five minutes later he broke the kiss.

"You know, we might have to keep this up for a while." He stated, looking quite serious. Tenten only tilted her head in question. "Yeah, or else your stalker might drop by for a visit one day and find out we fooled him." He grinned.

Tenten started laughing at him, even when she realized this was the equivalent of a normal person saying 'I like you'. "You're pretty sloppy at this." She commented, licking her lips with an evil look.

Neji managed to change color. "Guess you must've figured it out by now." He caught her confused look and shook his head. "It's the one thing you're better at than me. See? I'm not perfect!"

She rolled her eyes. "Geez, why would I ever want to be with someone so inexperienced?" She joked as Neji frowned. "I suppose..." She sighed. "I'll just have to impart some of my wisdom on you."

And just like that things were "back to normal".

**xoxo**

She couldn't believe what was happening. It had to be one of the most ridiculous situations she'd had to witness. Although with the group of people she knew that seemed to happen on a daily basis.

"See! And I thought you said you could stay away from me." Naruto sung happily, rocking side to side with a playful smile on his face.

A police officer standing behind Hinata shook his head. They had found Naruto wandering around empty streets and lurking through alleys with the same expression. At first there was some doubt as to whether they could contain the ninja, seeing as it _was_ Uzumaki Naruto and that he wasn't a silly genin anymore. But as they realized he was drunk out of his mind, they thought it best for himself and the citizens around that he be awarded his own private little jail cell, to keep him out of trouble.

And since everyone in Konoha knew about the engagement, the first person the officers called was Hyuuga Hinata, to the rescue. Because surely the damsel could control her... uh, beast.

"Uh, thank you... for calling me." Hinata mumbled, still staring at her fiancé. "Do you mind if..." She trailed off just as the officer nodded his head and walked away, giving the two a little more privacy. Cautiously, and with a growing temper she stalked closer to the bars separating them. "Naruto!" Hinata hissed with an angry expression. "What are you _doing_?" She almost shrieked.

Naruto just turned to look at her slowly with a silly grin. He started bobbing his head side to side to some unknown beat.

"Naruto if you don't answer me with something good right now, I'm going to leave you to rot in that cell for the rest of the night!" She threatened, grabbing onto the bars. "Why are you here? And why are you _drunk_?"

"I was only... just hanging out with my buddy Sasuke!" He managed to argue, still slurring a little. But it seemed as if whatever amount of alcohol he'd consumed was starting to wear off.

She wanted to smack herself in the head, but settled for knocking her forehead against the cool metal bars. "Would you just look around and tell me where you are? That is, if you haven't already noticed."

Naruto had to decency to scowl, his feet propped up on the small bed with him. "I know where I am. I know _exactly _where I am!" He said, his voice getting louder. "The real question is, do _you_ know where _you_ are."

Hinata blinked, looking at him as if he were crazy. "We're at the police station, Naruto." She responded in a flat voice, something that was hard for most people to imagine her say.

He still looked away with his nose in the air. "Well, I know why I'm here. Why're you here?" He asked again.

She blinked again. This conversation was going nowhere. "I'm here because I got a call telling me you were in jail and that no one trusted you to get home by yourself."

Now the blonde turned to stare at her seriously, although looking slightly fierce. "So? That's not the reason you came. You could've just told them to get somebody else to come and get me." He argued back again.

The expression on her face didn't even begin to show her confusion. "Oh? So you'd rather someone else came to pick your sorry butt outta jail then?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow.

He simply shook his head with a grin, obviously knowing something that she didn't. "You were worried about me."

Hinata was now so irritated she was starting to change color, her cheeks tinged with some red. "What does that even matter?! If you don't get your point across in the next two minutes I'm telling Sakura or somebody to pick you up in the morning."

Naruto, still grinning, got up and pulled a key ring out of his pocket. He easily slipped his arm around the bar and opened the lock. Hinata watched in shock as she was invited into the jail cell as if it were his house.

"How did you-" She sputtered, walking to the opened cell door.

He shrugged, tossing them into the air and catching them in the same hand. "Just because I'm a _little_ drunk," He made a tiny gap between his thumb and pointer finger and held it eye level. "Doesn't mean I can't pull off easy pranks like that."

"You really are still twelve years old." Hinata said, shaking her head in disbelief.

"You coming in or not?" Naruto asked, opening the door wider for her. Maybe he wasn't even as drunk as he appeared to be at all. Or maybe he'd been wandering around for so long that the alcohol had been wearing off as he waited for her in jail.

She hesitated, because after all, why would she walk right into a jail cell with the one person who managed to get on her nerves so much? She shook her head, if he did manage to piss her off further she could just beat him up. Hinata did know how to do that much.

"Fine." She huffed, walking inside slowly. Which just had to be her greatest downfall because as soon as she took two steps inside, Naruto grinned masterfully, pulled the door shut and tossed the key ring outside the cell a few feet away. Hinata turned around quickly with a glare. "What are you doing?" Her calm voice said.

At this, he definitely had a reason to be scared. It was always like this before she tried to literally kill him. The calm before the storm, as they say, and it also applied to the Hyuuga heiress. Although to most people Hinata and Naruto were a cute, perfect couple, but underneath there were the things that would cause a normal person to run for a bomb shelter. These things hardly ever happened though, and only a few times did it occur in public.

"I'm forcing you to spend time with me." He replied cheerfully, but Hinata could spot his muscles tense underneath his clothes.

She glanced around. It would be easy for her to get out of the cell, but the damage she was sure to inflict would be too much. She didn't need the embarrassment or to have her family owing a huge debt at this stage in the game.

Hinata sighed and began tapping a foot as she folded her arms. "What were you saying earlier?" She settled for being pissed because at least she wouldn't start crying in frustration at her predicament.

Naruto finally released a grin and walked past her to sit back on his bed that sat against a wall. "You were worried about me." He repeated, waiting. He patted the space next to him but she only raised her brows. When she didn't negate his statement he opened his mouth. "See! You didn't even deny it!"

She sighed again and let her arms fall. "Of course I had to be worried! No one told me _why_ you were in jail! And they made it seem like an emergency! 'Can't let him go home by himself' and so I thought you'd gotten yourself hurt or beat up or something stupid!" Her hair swished back and forth as she moved around agitatedly. "Do you know what time it is?" She questioned. "Too early to get drunk! It's no wonder you got yourself caught. I would've expected the village's number one hyperactive, knucklehead ninja to be more experienced at getting away." She said haughtily.

"Yeah, well maybe I wanted to get caught!" He argued with a frown, unsettled by her jab at his pranking skills. Though they both knew that wasn't true.

A moment of silence passed, as Hinata wondered when someone would be coming back to check on her and get her out and Naruto tried not to sulk and focus on the task at hand. He stared ahead, being eye level with her trim waist in a floral printed, summer dress.

"Why are you fighting with me again?" He questioned, twisting his head in a curious manner.

"I'm not." She huffed. "You're just being difficult."

Naruto grinned. "Yeah, but before weren't you angry with me? In fact you wanted to get away from me and now you're not even trying to get out of this cell." Now he raised a brow. "So I'm guessing this is your way of saying you want to talk?" Hinata snorted. He patted the bed again and she gave up the resistance, walking over to sit next to him. But when he moved to put an arm around her she glared again.

"Okay, so what? I was worried." She admitted, still trying to sound huffy about the whole thing.

After hearing her voice, Naruto looked away from the ceiling he'd been staring at to glance at her. He smiled softly at her. "Think about it. What'll happen if I come back from a mission, injured and in the hospital?" He questioned. Hinata didn't choose to answer. "I bet you'd probably be rushing to come visit me and yell at me like now."

The silence following this statement was used by Hinata to think over what he was saying.

He looked up at the ceiling again, propping an arm on his knee. "It doesn't matter if we were married or together or not. If anything happened to you, I'd be there. I'd be freaking out and worrying and everything. And I'm sure you'd feel the same way about me." Naruto looked back at her with big, blue eyes and his knowing smile. "It doesn't matter how you try to distance yourself from me, cuz you're here aren't you?"

Hinata sighed, slouching down in her seat. "How do you make everything seem so sensible? I guess... maybe... you're right." She admitted grudgingly.

"You must be hanging around Sakura-chan and Ino too much." He shook his head. "I'm right and you know it!"

"Your pompous attitude is not convincing me of anything." She stated, still put out.

Although Naruto did manage to keep everything light-hearted as he turned her around to see the light, now was his opportunity to hit his point home. And make sure she _knew_ what she'd be missing if she really wanted to separate.

Hinata hated to admit it but she'd couldn't help but see exactly what he meant. Which also made her question why she was here in the first place, from ending that phone call with an 'I'll be right there' to walking right into his stupid little trap.

It seemed too hard to swallow, but the ridiculous truth was... that she just couldn't stay away. She hated to imagine that in five years from now she'd be back to stalking him and purposely running into him at "random" intervals.

And well... now that they were making out on that awfully small bed, she felt like she never wanted him to leave. Because... it just felt _so good._

Okay, so maybe he did have a point. It had something to do with taking the good with the bad. Except she couldn't quite think straight at the moment.

Suddenly she pulled away, hovering above Naruto as he lay on the bed with a questioning gaze.

"We're not doing _that, here." _She stated simply, breaking the contact before things got out of hand. Naruto just grinned up at her...

And it took less than five seconds for the two to press themselves against the cold metal bars, all the while yelling for someone to get them out, that they were more than ready to go home.

**xoxo**

As he finally managed to come to, he realized vaguely that his hearing was a little off and it was taking his eyes too long to open. Also, there happened to be the fact that he wasn't lying down on the comfortable couch as he had been when falling asleep.

He was on the floor. And when he tried to move, soon realized his arms and legs were shackled.

Kakashi would've chuckled, wondering where someone would find shackles, well if the situation weren't so strange.

He also felt that his forehead protector wasn't on his face, but of course he'd taken it off before settling down for that nap. Which had been in the living room. Except now he found himself on the wooden floor of his bedroom.

Looking up he noticed a very familiar figure perched on the bed. And his response to her was definitely not what she expected.

"Did you make holes in my floor just to screw this in?" He asked, motioning to his bound arms and legs.

Anko rolled her eyes. "You just answered the question yourself. If I had to _screw_ it in, of course there are holes."

He chuckled lightly. "You're paying to have it fixed."

"Oh, I really doubt that." She answered, getting up and heading to his cabinet full of Icha Icha Paradise books.

"Speaking of those." He went on normally with a raised brow. "Have you-"

"You sure have quite a collection." She interrupted, making him frown. "But not very complete with that one missing book, huh?" Anko turned to him with dark eyes. "You don't seem to mind being tied up. Was it some long-awaited fantasy?"

"Actually, it did cross my mind." He answered with a smile that made Anko stare. Which happened to be when he realized his mask was gone. Narrowing his eyes, he didn't bother asking.

Anko just blinked and moved closer. "You know, for someone with such good features, I don't get why you'd let it go to waste." She grinned, kneeling beside his face and tracing his jaw with a finger. "You'd be a great 'chick magnet' and all. Which makes me wonder." She moved the finger to her own chin. "Have you ever been in the presence of any of those things you read about in your most loved book?"

"If you mean bondage gear, sadly no." Kakashi went on.

She just managed to roll her eyes. "No, I meant women." Anko walked around his bed and casually took off her jacket. "From what I can- hell, the world can tell- you haven't been getting any action lately, have you?" And she put on her best sympathetic voice.

"Well, it has been longer than I'd like." He murmured, eyes turning to the ceiling after watching her move. "So it that what you're here for? To make me feel better?" Kakashi turned back to her with a mocking smile.

"Why not? Your problems are my problems. Just like with your dumb book." She responded.

"Okay, then why am I tied up again?" He asked back.

"Because," Anko walked back to the books and pulled one out, giving it a glance, before tossing it to the floor. Kakashi frowned before hearing the thud. "I'm just..." She started off, grabbing one book after the other and dropping them as well. "Well, I'm just a little- a little pissed off." She went on, grabbing a pile and continuing her weird behavior.

"What are you-" He started with furrowed brows, but was cut off again.

"You know, I've tried reading these things before." Anko said, holding one up and staring at the cover. With a short laugh she tossed it over her shoulder, the book sliding right up to his face. "Turns out it wasn't for me."

At this point, the team seven teacher was holding back as he watched Anko ramble on pointlessly as his precious books lay around him like fallen ninja. Said person was humming to herself as she rummaged through the cabinet. After a minute, Anko paused and turned around with a curious smile.

"So, how are you holding up down there?" She asked, walking back over to the victim.

"Just peachy." He answered in his normal way while staring at her cautiously.

"Hey, I was just wondering..." Anko started off innocently as she crouched down closer. "So, you never really finished reading that volume of Icha Icha Paradise, right? That's why you're so eager to find it and all?"

Kakashi stared a moment longer than necessary before replying. "That's right."

"Oh, okay." She said, getting up and settling herself into a comfortable position on his bed. "You know, I think I'll give it a try one more time. Maybe it's not as bad as the last time I tried to read one."

He watched as Anko pulled out a book from her jacket and opened it slowly, her eyes mischievously looking at him as she did so. Then, she began to engross herself into the reading material. A moment of silence passed.

"Where did you get that?" Kakashi questioned, staring at the tattered cover.

Anko pretended to have barely heard him. "Huh? Oh, this?" She asked, holding the book up a little. "You know, around." She said before turning back to the pages.

**xoxo**

Sakura came home just after it had turned dark to realize Sasuke wasn't even home, which surprised her to say the least. She had actually expected him to spend the whole day moping around the house and waiting for her to get home.

She shook her head; it was the dumbest thing to think. Sasuke wouldn't be pining over anybody, especially not her.

So she went about tidying up a few things and making something to eat, remembering to call Shizune and ask for another day off. She planned on visiting her parents tomorrow and asking for her old room back and there would probably be a lot of begging involved.

She sighed, walking around and grabbing a packet of some easy-to-make dinner. She'd never get the same kind of freedom if she went home.

After half an hour of staring into space as she twirled a fork through her meal the door opened and the Uchiha walked in. Her first reaction to search him over carefully, wondering where he'd been but she didn't want to say anything.

And the most shocking thing happened, and she almost dropped the fork in her surprise. He spoke! He opened his mouth as if it were routine for him to do so, which we know not to be true what with his disability in this department.

"Sorry about getting back this late." He stated, walking over to the table she sat, where predictably another plate of food awaited him.

Sakura blinked, not realizing that she had been the one to prepare his food. It had just been an unconscious habit, after living with someone for about two years she was so conscientious. That and the fact that it could hardly be considered late really. It was only around six or seven in the evening.

"S'ok." She found herself muttering, casually returning to her meal.

Sasuke sat opposite her and paused slightly before also taking a stab at his food. The Uchiha, for his part, was grinning to himself on the inside. He so badly wanted to just blurt out the words, so sure that she'd proud of him without question. But he waited, not wanting to seem overexcited, because that just wasn't the Uchiha way.

After the silence had stretched on for a few minutes, in which it could be heard that Sakura wasn't enjoying her meal any longer, that is if you judged by the sound of clanking and her oddly expressionless face, she looked up.

"Where were you?" She asked, trying to seem careless as she got up with her mostly finished plate and walking to the sink.

"I went to see the Godaime." He answered coolly, just the way he'd perfected it all those years ago.

Dumping the rest of her food into the garbage proved difficult as she almost let go of the plate. "The wha-" Was her shocked response. "For what?" Sakura demanded suddenly. "Did she call to ask why I was out today?"

Sasuke was still shaking his head, though his expression did look pretty grim. He also stood up and walked over to her with his already finished plate. Distantly she thought that he really must've been hungry to finish it so quickly.

"I've accepted and come to terms with my actions when I left and betrayed Konoha. She finds it satisfactory that I've expressed my grief over this, even if it took a while." He grimaced slightly and paused. Sakura held her breath after dropping both plates and utensils into the sink. "So my punishment and repentance before I'm fully accepted as a ninja of Konohagakure won't be as severe. She wants me there tomorrow morning so I can get my proper sentence."

Sakura's eyes bulged out and she was sure she'd just gone deaf. It was hardly the fact that he'd said so much in one breath that shocked her anymore. But it was definitely the words he'd spoken. Her mouth hung open and there was nothing she could do about it.

"But really, things should've been much worse for me the moment I came back." He said thoughtfully. Then his dark eyes turned to stare at her, waiting for a response.

It took another minute or two, but she finally regained herself enough to ask. "Wha- Why did you... What made you go to her?"

He glanced to the side and shifted to the other leg. "Well I..." And even though now was the time the say the words... he just had no idea how to. Everything was stuck in his throat and he felt like he was choking on them.

Which is how he now found himself in the rather awkward position of her slapping him on the back hard enough to try and "dislodge" whatever he had been "choking" on, because obviously it looked like it to Sakura.

"You okay?" She asked, bending over, along with him as Sasuke was leaning with his hand on the counter for support.

Although not in his nature, his face was now slightly red and he held his neck as if he _had_ been choking. That and he was so embarrassed that wished he had died already.

He coughed a bit more. "Uh, yeah." He stammered out.

Which had to be another clue that Sasuke was losing his mind, well in Sakura's opinion anyway.

The dark-haired boy-almost-man stood up straight again and cleared his throat, before turning to fix the kunoichi with a firm gaze. "I was hoping you'd come with me."

Sakura was surprised once more to find he had grabbed her hand and she looked down to stare at them strangely. Suddenly angry she yanked her hand away and stepped back with a fierce expression.

"Would you quit it already?" She shouted. "Stop it! Stop trying to make me change my mind! Stop trying to fool me into whatever trap it is you've got ready!"

Sasuke stared at her in confusion. "What're you-" But he barely had a chance to speak once an enraged Sakura got started.

"You're not even playing fair! And I know that you expect everything to be the same like when we were younger and I'll just run right into your arms and the world will suddenly be perfect for us, or you at least. If that's your great master plan I think it's time you leave." The pink haired girl stomped her foot. "And I don't mean just my house. Repentance my ass. You don't- You don't care." She broke off, folding her arms and glaring at him.

Sasuke wanted to slam his head into the nearest thing, which was the refrigerator. So yeah, he wanted to slam his head into the refrigerator. What the hell was going on? He didn't even feel like it was back to square one. It had to be negative one million or something! How thick could she possibly be? But then with her formerly being "forehead girl" and all...

He couldn't fight, nor did he notice, the nostalgic grin that crept up on his face as he shook his head in remembrance.

"This isn't funny you jerk! You're just as arrogant as ever!" She yelled accusingly. Sasuke looked up, having almost forgotten his current position. Then the worst possible thing happened. Her voice dropped and her eyes tore through him with hurt and anger as they glazed over. "I can't believe you."

"But why? Why can't you just accept that maybe I'm different? Maybe people _have_ changed." He found himself arguing with her.

"You've got to be kidding me." She said, her voice still low as she gazed at him. "Let me tell you a little story, Sasuke-_kun_." She added, making him wince. "You were gone for so long, and for me it seemed so much longer than just a few years. And when you came back... Well, I'm not sure exactly what you expected. This is just who I am now. All... broken and hurt. You left and it hurt. And things happened, and it hurts! And now! Now you _think_ you want me? For real this time? I can't, I just can't play around like this anymore." Sakura sighed to herself, her hands formed fists as she exhaled. "Just... just give me a reason. Tell me not to go. And mean it then."

Sakura turned around, ready to walk into the bathroom for a long, hot shower when another voice echoed behind her.

In his most serious tone of voice and with eyes set on something he had to have, Sasuke opened his mouth. "You can't leave, Haruno Sakura." The kunoichi found herself smiling slightly at the use of her full name, forgetting about the implication of his words. "If you're broken..." He paused as if thinking it over. "I'm going to fix you." She glanced up and to the side, wondering if she should bother to turn around. "I'll be taking care of you this time around."

**xoxo**

The first half an hour had been Anko giving little 'oh's and 'wow' every few minutes as she determinedly tried to get through his book without doing something she'd later regret. Kakashi just laid there with a permanent frown and didn't move.

But then she decided to grab another that was nearest and begin reading that. Where she moved on to staring intently at the pages and licking her lips every so often. Kakashi managed to not stare at the ways she kept shifting around on the bed to make everything seem like an invitation. Nor did he bother to ask when she would be finished or what was the point of this entire scenario, because it _was_ Anko and she _was_ over eighty percent crazy.

Not to mention she took her time with each page, sometimes even flipping back to reread something or other. But by the time she picked up a seventh, he was ready to bring her 'revenge' to a screeching halt.

"You know, there are probably about ten jutsu's I could've used to get out of this, just off the top of my head." Kakashi said, finally opening his mouth.

She didn't seem all too concerned. "And you waited this long, why?" Was her response with a cheeky grin.

He kept silent though, with eyes staring her down. Which didn't seem to intimidate her at all. And actually he was bluffing because he could feel her chakra being used on these ordinary looking shackles.

For his two seconds of thinking he was granted the displeasure to realize Anko had turned her nose back to his book without saying anything.

"So you just plan on leaving me here like this while you read all my books?" Was his dry tone and bored expression as he asked this question.

"Mmhmm." Anko replied without turning back to him.

"And what if I'm hungry? Or need to use the lavatory?" He went, looking as if he were compiling a mental list.

Anko snorted at the word he'd used and just ignored everything else.

Kakashi glanced over to see her completely uninterested face. His eyes trailed down the rest of her body and then to the book in her hands. An idea struck him, something that probably shouldn't have. Something that he probably shouldn't suggest.

But he was going to anyway. Yes. He was going there.

"Or we could just skip the foreplay?"

Immediately Anko's face was revealed from behind the book and she stared at him curiously. "What was that?" She asked, blinking slowly.

Kakashi only shot her a devilish look. To which she replied with her own facial expression of the same kind.

"Oh? Well here I thought you'd want to know the story of how I came across this." She said, holding up to book.

The moment froze as he stared at her, "Fine." He conceded. "How'd you find it?"

"Actually it's not gonna be that simple for you. It's one or the other. Not both." Anko said, licking her lips enticingly. "And hey, I won't take it personally if you choose the book instead." She said with a careless shrug. Kakashi's eyes followed as she paced the floor near his body. "I dunno... considering everything you saw that night you broke into my house..." She said thoughtfully.

The sensei for team seven stayed quiet as he watched her. His brow furrowed as he glanced around the walls. Him? Making a choice? That's not how things went for him. He finally sighed. "Okay then, tell me how you found it."

Anko pouted playfully, but bounced back quickly enough. "Alright then." She settled back onto the bed and held it up, making a horrified face. "You'll never guess who it was."

If he weren't bound, Kakashi would've leaned forward eagerly. But he kept his face neutral and just listened.

"You." She said with a grin.

Kakashi blinked. "Come again."

This time she rolled her eyes. "I never thought such a great shinobi would be such a _moron_." She stated. "It was buried. In dirt." Anko said as if he were stupid. "By a dog. Akamaru to be exact. Inuzuka Kiba's dog, I believe." Kakashi stared at her in disbelief. "Akamaru found it." She paused. "After you dropped it."

"Uh huh." He responded, as if it were nothing, brows still furrowed.

She leaned closer. "Is that all you've got to say? No admitting your mistake or smacking yourself on the forehead, mentally of course, and wondering how you could've been so stupid?" She questioned.

Anko watched him carefully but it was a second too late and found herself once again bound by rope and tumbling, quite painfully, to the hardwood floor. She watched as he smiled, and it reflected on her face as well, if only more wicked.

"Do your worst." She challenged.

**xoxo**

The blonde lay in bed, even though it was rather early, and stared up at the ceiling. She found herself in one of Shikamaru's favorite positions for cloud watching, hands behind her head as she looked upward.

Speaking of Shikamaru... even though she was fighting every urge... the thought still came back. What the hell was going on?

It wasn't easy to admit... but Ino did realize she had a little problem when it came to relationships, or the lack of them. Without looking through the closet full of skeletons, she saw a pattern from the moment she met a guy and found him worth pursuing. Which usually ended up in one night stands or "relationships" that were more focused on the physical aspect. A few times there were strong emotions, but they were too awkward and didn't quite fit.

'Oh god, am I slut?' Ino thought to herself, pulling a face, still looking at the ceiling. Then gently shook her head. 'If my mother knew about any of that...' Her eyes trailed down to the left a little.

Of course she had to wonder what Shikamaru would think of the way she'd been living her life. Sure, everyone still acted like little kids, but really they were all around seventeen or eighteen years old. And things had changed.

And this new attraction between her and Shikamaru was making her head spin. Really, what was the point of conjuring up some new relationship with him? And why now? Why did things shift so suddenly at this point in their lives?

It totally threw her off. Especially since she was in a good place right now, that _didn't_ involve a guy. She was single and didn't mind at all, and it'd been that way for about half a year now.

Besides, all that flirting shouldn't mean much. He had to be playing around with her. There was no way Shikamaru would suddenly find himself interested in her. Right?

After that, the only thought going through her head was 'Why?' Why her? Why her?

Ino gave up and turned over to stare at her wall, which coincidentally had a mirror there. So she spent about ten minutes staring and blinking at herself.

She almost didn't recognize herself. What with the shorter hair and wrinkles and- Wait. She shot up from the bed thinking, 'Wrinkles?!' Only to realize it was just her thinking/worried/confused face.

Instead of trying to get to sleep, the blonde threw herself out of the bed and headed for the door, glancing at the clock that read around eight something. Ino barely grabbed a jacket (one that obviously wasn't her own) to throw over her silk nightgown, before walking straight out the front door.

As stupid as this move was, she wasn't worried in the least. She was a well trained shinobi and could probably restrain most men within two minutes. That and her neighborhood was one of the quietest districts of Konoha.

"Damnit." She muttered, realizing she'd forgotten to put on some shoes before leaving. Which she discovered upon stepping on something sharp.

Luckily since she knew the area well, there was one spot that was usually her destination. A big grassy hill, one that slowly sloped down to meet the river beneath. It always reminded her of Shikamaru because it was just the kind of place he'd always love to be.

"What are you doing?"

Ino was shocked out of her trance and stopped just short of the grass. Turning around she found the one person she didn't want to face. Of course, he didn't seem to feel the same way. In fact, looking her up and down with hands on his hips Shikamaru shook his head.

"No wonder you get so many dates all the time. Dressed like that I'm surprised no one's following you around right now." He said thoughtfully.

Ino glared, pulling the jacket closed a little more. "This is a nice neighborhood with families! No one would be following me but you."

He eyed her legs, the sleeping gown only reached around mid thigh. Then his eyes went up to the jacket. "I was wondering where that was!" He said suddenly, moving closer with a hand outstretched unconsciously.

Ino smacked his hand away. "If you didn't notice, I'm using it right now." Really she was wondering when the hell she'd borrowed Shika's jacket in the first place.

"Why are you out so late? Nothing to do at home, all alone?" He questioned, raising his brows suggestively.

The blonde smacked him upside the head. "Shut up, and stop that!" She said irritably. "And why are you lurking around my neighborhood anyway?" Ino closed her eyes as a heavy breeze passed, whipping her short hair around her face.

Shikamaru wasn't paying attention, or it seemed like it, as he waltzed past her to the hill and promptly sat down silently. Ino turned and followed him with an impatient look.

Lying back with his hands behind head, he opened his mouth. "Hardly have time for this anymore..." There was a long pause, where even Ino sat down and stared up at the night's sky. "I'm sorry."

Eyes shifting to the left before turning her head fully, Ino gazed at him blankly. With her mouth slightly parted it was easy to see she was confused.

Shikamaru sighed. "I'm saying... I apologize." He turned his head in the opposite direction so she wouldn't see. "For trying to push you into anything."

Ino looked down as well, completely misunderstanding. In her head she took his apology to mean he never wanted to be with her. That maybe he really had been joking around all that time. And that whole 'why' question turned into 'why not?' and 'what's wrong with me?'

'But really,' she thought, trying to cheer herself up, 'Shika would probably be better off with some level-headed girl who wasn't at all vain and-'

"I guess it's my fault really. Maybe I just took something you did or said the wrong way." He went on, turning back to stare openly at the sky.

Ino stared hard, glancing around at the grass and river. Abruptly she looked up to say something. "You haven't muttered troublesome anytime in the conversation yet."

His gaze fell on her face and he gave a small smile. "I was wondering whether it _was_ a conversation since until then I was the only one speaking for a while."

Unconsciously a finger went to poke at the healing scratch she'd received not even a week ago. Shikamaru winced even though Ino didn't acknowledge any sort of pain of discomfort. "So are you saying you're done?" She asked suddenly with a very empty tone of voice and expressionless face.

"Done?" He raised a brow in question and sat up. "With...?"

When she didn't respond, he assumed she was spacing off on him. It had to be one of the strangest conversations he'd had with his blonde teammate. Basically because it wasn't a conversation, and in fact Ino was hardly saying anything, which was more troublesome than her normal behavior.

Ino laid back down in the grass and stared up blankly at the sky, trying to sort her thoughts as Shikamaru stared at her with furrowed brows.

Although she wanted to melt at his sincerity, she had this great revelation dawn on her. That Shikamaru had grown up much more than she'd realized in the past few years. Maybe she'd never taken the time to notice or maybe she'd never wanted to accept the truth.

Him hardly having time for cloud watching was something. That and he didn't feel the need to utter 'troublesome' so often anymore. And the way he'd taken charge on their previously failed mission, well he was much more responsible now.

And she was sure Asuma-sensei would be proud of him. And Chouji too. But what about her? For all her talk of wanting to grow up, all she'd managed was a haphazard haircut and started wondering about her failed romantic relationships.

Maybe Sakura was right. That she should give him a chance...? Shikamaru did always bring out the better qualities in her. Just like she'd always nagged him to work harder, train more, etc., he always bugged her on the annoyingly pointless things she did, causing her to look at herself more closely.

Except now it looked a little too late. Because he probably _was_ kidding. Or he was ending his pursuit of her, which would mean she'd just thrown away her chance already.

"What're you thinking?" He asked, raising a brow as he looked down at her.

Sighing, she sat up again, hands flat on the ground behind her. "Why'd you do all of that anyway?" She questioned, avoiding his gaze.

Shikamaru found himself shrugging. "I don't know. I mean I never really thought about it before. But then Chouji said something and put this idea in my head."

"What was all that weird talk with innuendos and stuff?" She asked again, not risking him a glance.

"Not sure." He shrugged again. "I guess... I just thought it'd get your attention or something. Besides, it was fun." He grinned to himself.

The blonde couldn't help smiling as well when she picked up his amused tone. "So it's done? Then it's over?" She asked, finally looking up at him carefully.

"Truthfully... I haven't figured out what I want yet. I mean- not that you aren't desirable or anything!" He tried to cover up quickly, not wanting to make her angry.

Ino laughed at this. "I don't know what I want either." She said with a sigh, returning to the earlier solemn state.

"It did feel a little weird, didn't it?" He asked, scratching behind his head. "But it doesn't mean I'm done with you." He ended with a grin.

Ino stared at him longer. "So when are we gonna figure this out?" There was a pause as the two glanced around, unconcerned.

"Does making out count for something?" He asked, still grinning. She managed to glare. "Or at least a kiss?" Though he looked hopeful, she finally got that he was joking.

"I'm tired." She yawned for effect. "Shika let's go home. We'll figure it out later." As they got up and started to walk, with her leading the way, she abruptly stopped and turning to slam into him. "And I don't mean that as a proposition you pervert!" Ino said, smacking him again.

**xoxo**

She sighed to herself, trying to keep awake as she waited. Looking through the windows she saw storm clouds forming and soon it started to rain. The blonde looked up as a cup of tea was placed in front of her by a smiling waitress.

A few minutes later someone burst through the door and quickly walked over, grabbing as many napkins as possible to try and get rid of the water on her arms and face. "Hey, sorry I'm kinda late."

"I was waiting for like twenty minutes." Ino replied, lazily stirring sugar into the cup. "You're lucky I have nothing better to do today." She said, stifling a yawn.

Sakura glanced over as she sat down. "What have you been up to?"

"Oh." Ino waved a hand, this time the yawn got through. "Just haven't slept much these past few nights." Sakura quirked an eyebrow. "Spent it with Shikamaru and his over 200 IQ or whatever."

The pink-haired kunoichi made a face, thinking this was some form of dirty talk. "You and Shikamaru?!" She questioned with a lowered voice.

Ino blinked to herself. Then let out a laugh. "No, not like that. We just stayed up late talking. There's never much time during the day with work and all. Suddenly we're getting mission files thrown at us."

Sakura blinked again. "So... you and Shikamaru?" She questioned, this time with confusion.

The blonde tilted her head thoughtfully. "Maybe..."

There was a pause and Sakura called a waitress to get a cup of coffee. "Well... Sasuke was supposed to move out." Ino nearly spit out the sip she'd taken. "But we worked something out. And he's staying. Hey, tell Shikamaru I said thanks, okay?"

'For what?' Ino thought to herself, unable to miss the fact that her best friend seemed more cheery.

**xoxo**

True to her normal routine, Tenten was on her way back to work from her lunch break. Work being the report on her last mission that she'd procrastinated on filling out. Her lunch break being the hour she spent at home watching TV and eating macaroni and cheese, which she almost burnt.

Because all you had to do was give Tenten a few days and she'd be running properly again. Just like the microwave in her kitchen.

'Wonder where Neji-' She thought, being cut off by someone who grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the nearby alley she'd almost walked past.

"God Tenten, you need to stay sharp. What if someone were trying to kidnap you?" He asked, scoffing at her before grinning.

Tenten just glared, and put on a mischievous smile. "I would just have to use my womanly prowess to get myself out of that kind of jam." She replied.

Neji looked down at her with a blank look for a second. Then he grinned again. "And what would you come up with?" He questioned, pressing his body against her tightly.

She pretended to look away uninterestedly. "You probably couldn't handle it. And I wouldn't wanna upstage the great Neji." Tenten smiled to herself.

The Hyuuga prodigy smirked and Tenten looked up just as his face descended on hers.

**xoxo**

The dark-haired young woman stumbled back in surprise, eyes closed tight as if she'd seen something so disturbing... well, she had actually.

"Ohmygodohmygodohmygod. I think I just lost vision in my right eye." Hinata mumbled to herself, backing away slowly and trying not to bump into anyone, before turning around and walking quickly.

As she tried not to look over her shoulder to where she knew her cousin and teammate Tenten were... taking care of their business or whatever, she happened upon a group of her fellow shinobi.

"Hello Hinata!" Lee said, giving her a proud salute as two people stood behind him. "We're in search of Neji; do you happen to know where he is?"

"Why? What's going on?" She questioned, glancing at Shino and... Gaara.

"We are currently taking on the task of escorting Gaara back to Suna in a few days and Neji has been assigned to this mission as well." Lee continued.

Gaara just folded his arms and made a sound. "Not that I need the help anyway. You're all going to slow me down and be a nuisance." He muttered. Shino caught Hinata's eyes and winked reassuringly.

The Hyuuga heiress thought to herself, looking at how much they'd all grown up, and it was lucky for a lot of people that they'd all broken out of their psychotic, anti-social shells. Otherwise she'd be a little uncomfortable and more than a little freaked out by being in Gaara's presence. Who wouldn't with that curse he's got?

She smirked on the inside. "Oh, actually I think I saw Neji just a minute ago." Hinata said cheerfully. "He was just down that way I think." And pointed somewhere over her shoulder. As much as she loved Lee like family... she was totally feeding him to the dogs. Dogs named Hyuuga Neji and Tenten.

"Thank you for your help Hinata! We'll dedicate the success of our mission to you!" Lee said before happily moving onward with Gaara still sighing behind him. Hinata watched as they started to walk away but grabbed Shino's coat sleeve to hold him back.

"Hey, maybe you should... just wait a bit?" She said, trying not to give anything away.

Shinko looked back at the two walking away and shrugged. "Okay. What's up? How are... things?" He asked carefully, watching her.

Hinata smiled brightly. "You mean with Naruto? Things are great!" She gushed on. "In fact I didn't even want to get out of bed today."

Shino jumped a mile in the sky. "Too much info Hinata!"

She laughed at him anyway, not letting anything ruin her good mood. So much for the shy, elusive Hinata.

**xoxo**

"You're kidding right?" He questioned, not looking up.

"Just a suggestion." She answered.

"Yeah and we know how well your other suggestions went." He replied.

She smirked. "That's not what you were saying last night. Or the night before that."

Kakashi paused and moved the book down to look at Anko directly. "Have you been reading more of my books?" To which she answered with a grin. "I really should have just kept you locked up in the basement."

Anko grinned. "Really, what _were_ you thinking?"

**xoxo**

"Come on guys! Follow me!" Naruto shouted behind him, where Sasuke, Chouji, Shikamaru and Kiba trailed along.

"What's he so happy about?" Kiba asked the nearest person, Shikamaru, who shrugged.

Sasuke shook his head at the blonde. "What's going on Naruto?" He finally questioned.

"I'm treating everyone to ramen!" Naruto proclaimed. Everyone face-faulted and groaned. But when the blonde turned around with a dark look on his face everyone grumbled out agreement.

"And why are you doing this, Naruto?" Chouji asked again.

"Why do I need a reason?" Naruto responded, still smiling cheerfully. At the broody silence he turned back to them. "Oh, I just got a little bonus from the last my last mission."

There was a thoughtful silence as the guys looked at each other. Then...

"Naruto, I was there on your last mission." The blonde turned to Shikamaru with a sheepish face. "And that was nearly a month ago." He went on in his matter-of-fact sounding voice.

"What're you hiding from us?" Kiba asked suspiciously.

Naruto turned around, walking backwards. "Nothing! Nothing at all! Can't you guys just take a free meal when it's offered?"

Sasuke grinned to himself, knowing he'd get the truth later anyway. So he chose to help out his friend. "Sakura and I are together now." He stated in his usual calm manner, though jumping up and down on the inside.

Even Naruto stopped walking altogether at this news. "Wha- Really? You're sure now?" The blonde questioned.

Kiba just groaned and smacked his forehead. "Great, now it's just one less woman on the market."

Shikamaru glanced around at everyone. "Come on, I'm hungry." He said, continuing the walk when no one else did. "And cross Ino off that list too." He said in a low voice as the others tried to keep up with his pace.

Chouji hid his glee and refrained from pointing how right he was from the beginning.

**xo end xo**

**DONE, **what else is there to say?

9-17-07

I just reread the five chapters to this story in the past week... I wish I had posted this final chapter sooner. It makes me smile.

Thank you.

4-21-09

10:45pm


End file.
